Building a class consciousness.

[IrishWorker]

A few ideas Ive been throwing about in my head.

It is essential in any revolutionary situation to have the people politically aware of whom they are and what they can achieve through unified mass political agitation as we have seen through out history that the only real vehicles for change have been those which have been overwhelmingly endorsed by the people.

The social injustices of capitalism imperialism neo-conservatism and fascism sadly need spelt out to the people but this is not the sole fault of the people as consumerism and capitalist lifestyle in general has eroded any real sense of working class unity.

The people need to be sat down face to face with Marxists and explained to them that there is a better and more just society we can build around the core principals of Marxism…


State provided Social Housing for every citizen.
State provided Health Care for every citizen
Religious and Social Equality
Free Environmentally friendly energy
Unemployment to be banned by the state.
Nationalisation of all Land and Industry


When the people start to become conscious of the benefits of a Socialist society then Socialists will inevitably enjoy the support of the people. For the vanguard to capitalize on future left wing popular support the vanguard need to be the main protagonists in building the working class consciousness.

Any new strategy devised by the vanguard that fails to acknowledge the fact that the people are in a class identity crisis is doomed from the off set.


When we accept the facts of the current state of the working class and its lack of a unified identity then we must accept that now is the time to act.

The establishment of a committee tasked solely with the challenge of raising class awareness and building a class consciousness is essential for the strategic development and direction of the people.

A Peoples Information Executive should be established with the above remit and with bringing on board all Marxist-Leninist political groupings in each country under one umbrella distributing M-L politics locally nationally and internationally

Talking about unity in the left is essential but we must be very careful with who we throw our lot in with as I believe that any involvement with reformists may have a negative effect on the project.

The Peoples Information Executives sole task should be mass education of the people to the benefits of Marxist society.

Public Meetings- Held in community halls leisure centres etc these public meetings should consist of a Marxist-Leninist panel to first off give a talk to the people on the benefits of Socialism and the pit falls of capitalism and then open up to the floor for a Q&A session.
These meetings should be well advertised through leafleting homes schools local pubs and generally anywhere that people go to socialise.

Leaflets- Should be produced by the PIE on a large scale and distributed by the membership of each M-L organisation affiliated to it as it is a cheap and easy way to get our politics into people’s homes as not everyone has the privilege of the internet.

Website- One should be established that contains all documents produced by the PIE and links to every Marxist-Leninist group that supports it.

The Peoples Information Executive should consist of independent and party affiliated Marxists who will write the literature to be distributed.

The Peoples Information Executive should not be seen as a political party in any sense of the word its sole remit is free information to the people.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

And you only wish to spread M-L ideology why? There are many Socialists who advocate the revolution who are not M-L's.

We will not be able to win a propaganda war on Capitalist terms. I.e. the old media of leafleting, magazines, e-zines etc., will probably not bear much fruit.

Often, it is the stigma that Capitalist propaganda attaches to Socialist ideas that puts off people. Untruths such as the following are common:

Socialism will take your possessions, your money and your house.
Socialism will spy on you in your home and send you to jail for 20 years if you dare utter anything against the 'official line.'
Socialism will provide you with inferior goods and you will not be allowed to own luxuries such as ipods, nice televisions and general goods of a high quality.

As clearly propagandised as the above are, we Socialists do not do a good job of the simple task of repelling these falsehoods. We can all agree amongst ourselves that class struggle is central to any revolution. However, it seems like taking the argument of class war, in the language that we use amongst ourselves, simply does not appeal to people, even the working class. There is a reasonable explanation for this. Class struggle within the Capitalist system is a perfeclty reasonable, logical idea. We know this. However, many in society who are not conscious of class have indeed become more and more reactionary, and are incapable of understanding logical argument, due to their exposure to bourgeois ideas for so long, it becomes natural for them to become comfortable with Capitalist ideas. This is an uncomfortable truth for us Socialists, and we must work hard to turn this situation around. We would thus do well to come up with a set of arguments which, logically and in simple terms, repels the worst of Capitalist propaganda.

[IrishWorker]

And you only wish to spread M-L ideology why? There are many Socialists who advocate the revolution who are not M-L's.

We will not be able to win a propaganda war on Capitalist terms. I.e. the old media of leafleting, magazines, e-zines etc., will probably not bear much fruit.

Often, it is the stigma that Capitalist propaganda attaches to Socialist ideas that puts off people. Untruths such as the following are common:

Socialism will take your possessions, your money and your house.
Socialism will spy on you in your home and send you to jail for 20 years if you dare utter anything against the 'official line.'
Socialism will provide you with inferior goods and you will not be allowed to own luxuries such as ipods, nice televisions and general goods of a high quality.

As clearly propagandised as the above are, we Socialists do not do a good job of the simple task of repelling these falsehoods. We can all agree amongst ourselves that class struggle is central to any revolution. However, it seems like taking the argument of class war, in the language that we use amongst ourselves, simply does not appeal to people, even the working class. There is a reasonable explanation for this. Class struggle within the Capitalist system is a perfeclty reasonable, logical idea. We know this. However, many in society who are not conscious of class have indeed become more and more reactionary, and are incapable of understanding logical argument, due to their exposure to bourgeois ideas for so long, it becomes natural for them to become comfortable with Capitalist ideas. This is an uncomfortable truth for us Socialists, and we must work hard to turn this situation around. We would thus do well to come up with a set of arguments which, logically and in simple terms, repels the worst of Capitalist propaganda.

I am a Marxist-Leninist and I believe that a M-L political movement will lead the people to socialism. Here in Ireland it will be the IRSM that is why I am advocating M-L doctrine.
But from the rest of your post I see that you agree that it a good idea to produce literature for the people dispelling the myths about socialist society.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Indeed, we just seem to be particularly poor at explaining such myths. I put a lot of this down to the language we use. It seems to be an issue of principle. It does not turn us into New Labourite sell outs to explain in a more direct, lamen way the problems with Capitalism, and put succinctly the antidote that Socialism would administer.

Many Socialist/C(c)ommunist organisations seem to be intent on pressing ahead with anachronistic, lengthly explanations of just about everything.

Whilst our theoretical advancement is something that we, as intellectuals, should be proud of and uphold steadfastly, we should find a way of being less awkward in our relations with the mass of workers. We only distance ourselves from the very people we need to awaken into a consciousness of revolution and class awareness, by using the fluffy language of intellectuals.

I'm not totally sure what the answer is, but as Socialists (I will include all revolutionaries, not just M-L's, or whatever tendency one, in the personal pronoun usage, belongs to) we need to connect with the mass of workers and the exploited, not just the labour movement.

[Invincible Summer]

I think that (esp. in the USA) if you use terms like "nationalization" and "state-owned" or "state-provided," you'll scare people off. As DemSoc has rightly pointed out, anti-commie propaganda has been crafted by those with enormous amounts of money and power, and it is a very difficult task to fight such lies.

I think Communists need to take a more subtle approach to propagandizing. As suggested in threads like "High School Commie thread" and others, it may be more useful to talk generally about egalitarianism and making a better global society for the benefit of everyone, not just one country or the other. We must be willing to talk openly about the problems (without any sectarianism) associated with "communist" states in the past to demonstrate a willingness to try a different approach.

Since class consciousness is seeing that the ruling classes, despite all their pretty lies, do not have any common interests with the working class, it's necessary to expose inequality and this conflicting class interest. With the growth of the Internet and information-freedom movements and more tech-savvy individuals, we cannot discount the power of such a technological tool. It's not just for "armchair activists." I think the electronic arena is one which is still fairly fresh and could be a powerful asset to the Left.

The townhall-type discussions/public forums on communism are a good idea, although I could imagine some nasty gun-toting right-wing nuts pulling some crazy shit.

[btpound]

I think IrishWorker's proposal is both provocative and ambitious. Class consciousness is of the utmost importance. The idea that society is composed of two antagonistic classes is the foundation from which all communism stems. If people are instilled with a class consciousness, half the work is done for us. I for one commend Irishworker on his proposal. Communists today have a bad habit of being too moderate. We shouldn't nit-pick their false consciousness, we should cut it off at the source. When you have a weed in your garden, you don't prune it. You pull it up by the root. Of course we should speak to workers on their terms, and not the flowery language of intellectuals, but we should speak boldly as well. It seems like a revisionist tenancy in the movement to me that wants to take it slow. I have read people who want to change all the terms from communism to dictatorship of the proletariat. Why? That is what it is! I we try to hide what we believe, or sweep it under the rug, we are digging our own graves.

[Lyev]

the core principals of Marxism…


State provided Social Housing for every citizen.
State provided Health Care for every citizen
Religious and Social Equality
Free Environmentally friendly energy
Unemployment to be banned by the state.
Nationalisation of all Land and Industry

None of the above is remotely Marxist :confused: In the UK we have the NHS ("State provided Health Care for every citizen") but in no way at all is the UK Marxist. Marxism, fully ripened, is stateless as well as classless. And how can unemployment be "banned"??

[The Ungovernable Farce]

If you just focus on telling people about the glorious wonders that they can achieve in a hypothetical future situation, I think you end up coming across like another set of untrustworthy politicians. Would it not be far better to stress the concrete gains that can be achieved here and now, and the need for militancy and class unity in order to get them?

[btpound]

None of the above is remotely Marxist :confused: In the UK we have the NHS ("State provided Health Care for every citizen") but in no way at all is the UK Marxist. Marxism, fully ripened, is stateless as well as classless.

But these are still socialist programs. You can impliment socialist programs under capitalism, but can never have full socilaism under capitalism or vice versa.


And how can unemployment be "banned"??

Like this:

Article 40. Citizens of the USSR have the right to work (that is, to guaranteed employment and pay in accordance wit the quantity and quality of their work, and not below the state-established minimum), including the right to choose their trade or profession, type of job and work in accordance with their inclinations, abilities, training and education, with due account of the needs of society.
This right is ensured by the socialist economic system, steady growth of the productive forces, free vocational and professional training, improvement of skills, training in new trades or professions, and development of the systems of vocational guidance and job placement.

(Taken from the 1977 constitution of the USSR.)

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

I think IrishWorker's proposal is both provocative and ambitious. Class consciousness is of the utmost importance. The idea that society is composed of two antagonistic classes is the foundation from which all communism stems. If people are instilled with a class consciousness, half the work is done for us. I for one commend Irishworker on his proposal. Communists today have a bad habit of being too moderate. We shouldn't nit-pick their false consciousness, we should cut it off at the source. When you have a weed in your garden, you don't prune it. You pull it up by the root. Of course we should speak to workers on their terms, and not the flowery language of intellectuals, but we should speak boldly as well. It seems like a revisionist tenancy in the movement to me that wants to take it slow. I have read people who want to change all the terms from communism to dictatorship of the proletariat. Why? That is what it is! I we try to hide what we believe, or sweep it under the rug, we are digging our own graves.

Not every Socialist believes in the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. But I guess that is a moot point in this discussion.

The point is that what we have been doing has not working. Yes, this has a lot to do with the collapse of the USSR and GDR, and the 'victory' that Capitalism has gained from this and used to bury virtually all of the meaningful left in many parts of the world. However, it is clear that our tactics have been failing.

Sectarianism is good. It is what the left is about. However, the rampant sectarian mud-slinging that has become endemic over the past 20 years or so is taking the left down. It is ridiculous, for instance, that in Britain alone, we have the CPGB M-L, RCP, NCP, CPGB 'representing' mainstream Marxism-Leninism, and several other parties 'representing' other variations of revolutionary Socialism. It is clearly rogue for any of these parties to claim to be the sole movement that has the ability to carry out revolution, when most of the hard-left parties in Britain are full of a few thousand, a few hundred or even a few dozen die-hards, pretty much closed off from attracting mass support, by their intellectual snobbery and ideological solitude.

If parties are willing to split over the issue of whether to support the Labour Party or not, then that shows that these people are more concerned with making a party of their own than following someone else who may be more able to take the revolutionary argument to the working class. Either we unite, or Socialism in the 21st century will be nothing more than a footnote in history. That is the uncomfortable truth.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

But these are still socialist programs. You can impliment socialist programs under capitalism, but can never have full socilaism under capitalism or vice versa.



The NHS is not Socialist. The idea of a free, universal healthcare service for everybody is a Socialistic one. However, if this idea is implemented by managers from above, and Doctors are forced to work to targets arbitrarily dictated from the centre, then this is simply symptomatic of a State Capitalist organisation, rather than a genuinely Socialist one.

Nationalisation does not equal Workers' Democracy, and thus it does not equal Socialism.

[IrishWorker]

None of the above is remotely Marxist :confused: In the UK we have the NHS ("State provided Health Care for every citizen") but in no way at all is the UK Marxist. Marxism, fully ripened, is stateless as well as classless. And how can unemployment be "banned"??
State provided Social Housing for every citizen. Is a must of any Marxist state as it is essential to have equality of living standards for every citizen all property owned by any individual or company should be in the hands of the state and citizen tenants should pay a small means tested fee to the state for the upkeep and maintenance of the premises.

State provided Health Care for every citizen Under Marxism the state has the sole responsibility for the health of its citizens and the lifestyle that they lead a Marxist health programme should not just have the responsibility of dishing out medicines to treat existing illness as it is important to prevent illness it should be involved in the day to day lives through state provided Leisure centers and Gyms.


Religious and Social Equality. Total religious freedom every citizen has the right to pray to whatever "God" they chose as long as there beliefs do not oppress or interfere with the life’s of any other citizen.

Free environmentally friendly energy. Every home should have its own source of renewable energy solar panels turbines etc should be provided by the state.

Unemployment to be banned by the state. If a citizen cannot gain employment alone then the state has the responsibility to provide each citizen without a job some role in society a job in the peoples armed forces or maintenance work within the citizens own community.

Nationalization of all Land and Industry. All land industry and natural resources are the property of the people and exist solely for the benefit each citizen.

Is this not Marxism?