"We should get our comrades to understand that the twofold basic task of the leading bodies of the Communist Party is to know conditions and to master policy; the former means knowing the world and the latter changing the world." -Mao Zedong, 1941, Reform our Study
[This essay excerpt was written by Jimmie Durham of the Cherokee nation. Durham was a member of the American Indian … Continue reading Culture as a Way to Know the World by Jimmie Durham, 1974
by J. Cabral, General Secretary of Revolutionary Initiative On the 125th anniversary of May Day, we have much to celebrate, … Continue reading Six Lines of Demarcation
[From The Activist.] Most people in the U.S., including most leftists, know next to nothing about Canadian politics. Because of … Continue reading Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Left in the Canadian Elections
[From Speed of Dreams.] So, the sacred liberal democratic election ritual that began 37 days ago was concluded yesterday. The … Continue reading Conservative Majorities, NDP Surges & Revolutionary Struggle
[From Arsenal-Express newsletter, a publication of the Revolutionary Communist Party (Canada). – Ed.]
It is with great pride and a deep sense of responsibility in front of the Canadian proletariat and the international communist movement that we announce the rallying of the Social Revolution Party (SRP) to the Parti communiste révolutionnaire – Revolutionary Communist Party (Canada).
The Social Revolution Party is an Ottawa-based communist group founded in 2009. Created two years earlier, the Revolutionary Communist Party is a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist party that fights for a revolutionary change in Canada, for workers power and socialism, as part of the world revolution.
Following the historic anti-capitalist mobilization against the G20 Summit in June 2010 in Toronto, the Social Revolution Party came into contact with the RCP. During the fall, members of the SRP studied and discussed the program of the RCP. The comrades of the SRP also took part in the Second Canadian Revolutionary Congress organized by the RCP, which was held December 11, 2011 in Toronto. The RCP was then able see the quality of the revolutionary commitment of the SRP and its activists and their willingness to move forward on the path of communism and revolution. Despite being a young organization, members of the SRP already have a rich experience in organizing, especially among the working class.
Continue reading “A New Wave of Unity Among Revolutionary Communists”
[The following document was drafted in the mid-2000s by the group that gave rise to Revolutionary Initiative. While it is a rather rudimentary document and by no means a program for the revolution, its significance stems from the fact that, for a period of time, its formulations provided sufficient ideological and political unity amongst a small core of proletarian revolutionaries to kick-start a Party-building process in Canada.
Through further study, experience in the mass struggle, and criticism and self-criticism, this “Basis of Unity” would come to be replaced by our “Theses on the Party Building Movement in Canada” and a series of more refined ideological, political, organizational, and historical documents to carry forward the party-building process.
However, this short ideological-political document demonstrates that not every question must or can be resolved before a group of proletarian revolutionaries begins carrying forward the practical work of rebuilding a genuine communist party.
For a French translation of this document, click here. – Ed.]
“Basis of Unity”
To eventually form a genuine communist party of Canada, proletarian revolutionaries in Canada must unify around the following points:
Continue reading ““Basis of Unity” – Origins of Revolutionary Initiative”
[Part of our ongoing series on revolutionary military strategy in imperialist countries. Originally posted here.]
First published in Arsenal magazine, No. 5, May 2005. Arsenal is the voice of the RCP(OC).
“Policy is the starting-point of all the practical actions of a revolutionary party and manifests itself in the process and the end-result of that party’s actions. A revolutionary party is carrying out a policy whenever it takes any action. If it is not carrying out a correct policy, it is carrying out a wrong policy; if it is not carrying out a given policy consciously, it is doing so blindly. What we call experience is the process and the end-result of carrying out a policy. Only through the practice of the people, that is, through experience, can we verify whether a policy is correct or wrong and determine to what extent it is correct or wrong. But people’s practice, especially the practice of a revolutionary party and the revolutionary masses, cannot but be related to one policy or another. Therefore, before any action is taken, we must explain the policy, which we have formulated in the light of the given circumstances, to Party members and to the masses. Otherwise, Party members and the masses will depart from the guidance of our policy, act blindly and carry out a wrong policy.” – Mao Zedong, On the Policy Concerning Industry and Commerce, 1948
We are publishing these working notes that have been produced at the RCP(OC) Politburo’s request, in order to pursue the study of the protracted people’s war as a strategy for the imperialist countries. [1]
[More on our series on the various views in ICM on participating in bourgeois elections. This post comes from the Social Revolution Party, a MLM group in Ontario. Their original post can be found here.]
I. Introduction
In light of the recent debates within the International Communist Movement1 as to the value of working within the bourgeois parliamentary system, and because of questions posed to the Social Revolution Party as to its position on bourgeois elections, it seemed prudent to write an article on the bourgeois parliamentary system and the attitude that communists should be taking towards parliament. For whatever reasons, it seems that English speaking communists often romanticize the parliamentary experience; indeed, almost all of the “official” Communist Parties within the Anglosphere have been reduced to, in the words of Marx, “parliamentary cretinism”2.
In the interests of a detailed and thorough exposition of the problem at hand, this article will begin by looking at the original debates surrounding communist involvement in bourgeois parliaments dating back to the inception of the Third International. Careful attention will then be paid to Lenin’s critique of both British and German communist involvement in their respective parliaments, with an eye as to whether or not Lenin was being consistent in his critique. We will then step forward 80 years and examine the modern Canadian context and whether or not advocating parliamentary involvement in Canada in 2009 is a Leninist position. Lenin’s position itself will then be the focus of extreme critiques, examining the effects of parliamentary involvement on communist organisations. Finally, after careful investigation, a position for the Social Revolution Party will be put forward. Onwards!
Continue reading “On Elections: Social Revolution Party (Canada)”
[From Call For A New Class Struggle in Canada:]
Boycott the Elections! is a slogan that is anything but passive. Driven by the forces of the militant proletariat, led by activists working for revolution and for the destruction of the exploitative capitalist system, this slogan is a call to fight
against apathy and indifference, and against what will be an inevitable defeat otherwise.
This slogan is a call for unity among the proletariat, whether they be young, old, unemployed, immigrant or refugee.
This slogan is a call to unite with the most militant layers among the Native nations who refuse to recognize the Canadian Parliament, except than to be the organizer of their own oppression. This slogan when carried forward by the most conscious forces among the proletariat, can offer the proletariat a real political perspective: the actions of the revolutionary proletariat to transform society. This action must be first and foremost the expression of the rejection of bourgeois politics in a conscious and unified way. By organizing actions, through meetings and protests, through the massive distribution and publication of leaflets and newspapers throughout the country, these revolutionary actions
represent a real threat to the apparatus of domination of the bourgeoisie. They reveal and expose to the eyes of many the deeply unfair nature of this system ruled by a tiny minority.
There will be those that will criticize us who boycott by saying that we are playing the game of the rightists. Some forces on the left often use this argument: “One can try to rebalance bourgeois parliamentarism by calling for proportional representation”. In either case, whether it be twoheaded or three-headed, it remains the party of the bourgeoisie. What really matters is that in all cases, the same interests prevail, both in government and in opposition. Regardless of parliamentary representation, the nature of Parliament itself remains the same.
[Updated Feb 16, 2012 to include an excerpt from Six Lines of Demarcation – ed] We’re running with a theme! … Continue reading On elections: RI’s take (so far)
