I'm 17, and a very new Communist would like to hear from you guys about Communism.

[New Communist]

So guys I have been interested in Communism for a while and finally did research on it, and I love the aspect of it, the socialist society is a utopian society. I am already sure I want to join the CPUSA in a year because I feel that I am a Marxist-Leninist. So, tell me in a very brief way of explaining what is Communism? I have some questions for you guys also.

How do you feel about Stalin, he killed millions of people no?

Should I be open with people if asked about Communism?

Why has no one attempted to run from the Communist party since 1984?

and lastly, how many Communists are in the U.S.A.?

[The Feral Underclass]

Put simply, communism is a social relationship where the means of production are organised so that people in society work together to create what is needed for society to function, and take from that what they need to survive. It is essentially the antithesis (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/antithesis) of capitalism. It is also the negation (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/negation?s=t) of class, and therefore can only be created by the working class themselves, since the working class are the ones to benefit from the negation of class, i.e. liberation from the exploitation, oppression and alienation of capitalism

For someone who believes society should be organised in this way, I think the most important question to be asking, is how best to achieve it? Is "Orthodox Marxism" or Leninism able to create the necessary political conditions for the proletariat to abolish themselves as a class?

[Questionable]

Please don't join the CPUSA. They're a front for the Democrats, and their only strategy is to vote for them because they're the "lesser evil." They've been dead for the working-class for decades.

If you're interested in Marxism-Leninism, I recommend reading Stalin's own theoretical works for an introduction to its foundations, as well as reading Grover Furr's texts on the Soviet Union's history.

http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1924/foundations-leninism/

http://msuweb.montclair.edu/~furrg/

Here's a bit of wisdom; everyone here wants you to be one of them. Don't come here expecting objective answers. Trots will give you their version of things, MLs theirs, Leftcoms theirs, etc. Asking questions isn't wrong, but when someone with an avatar of Leon Trotsky answers your questions about whether Stalin killed millions of people, just remember whose side he is on. Same thing for us Marxist-Leninists, of course.

[Per Levy]

I am already sure I want to join the CPUSA in a year because I feel that I am a Marxist-Leninist. So, tell me in a very brief way of explaining what is Communism? I have some questions for you guys also.

do yourself a favour and dont join this group, their politics are shitty, they support obama and the democrats and arnt even "marxist-leninist".


How do you feel about Stalin, he killed millions of people no?

a shitty politician who ruled over a statecapitalist state.


Should I be open with people if asked about Communism?

depends on you and if you can trust the people asking not to give you shit for being one.


Why has no one attempted to run from the Communist party since 1984?

because they support the democrats.


as well as reading Grover Furr's texts on the Soviet Union's history.

yes read the texts of a stalin fanboy who wants to rewrite history so stalin come out looking good and all, furr is a historical revisionist and cant be taken seriously.

[Questionable]

yes read the texts of a stalin fanboy who wants to rewrite history so stalin come out looking good and all, furr is a historical revisionist and cant be taken seriously.You're right. Your post was so knowledgeable and enlightening, I don't see how Furr's research could be of any value when we have your groundbreaking "shitty statecapitalist" analysis! I mean, case closed, guys.

[The Feral Underclass]

Will you two go away.

This person wants to learn about communism, not have to read a boring sectarian back-and-forth.

[Questionable]

Will you two go away.

This person wants to learn about communism, not have to read a boring sectarian back-and-forth.

No, I won't go away. I answered his questions politely, gave him resources for learning, and gave him a bit of advice on asking questions here. I won't initiate sectarianism, but if people are going to ask for it, they had better be prepared to get it back.

[The Feral Underclass]

No, I won't go away. I answered his questions politely, gave him resources for learning, and gave him a bit of advice on asking questions here. I won't initiate sectarianism, but if people are going to ask for it, they had better be prepared to get it back.

:rolleyes:

[Anglo-Saxon Philistine]

Quite frankly, it doesn't matter if Stalin was responsible for the death of thousands or millions. Certainly, some comrades that I consider exemplary revolutionaries - Trotsky, Pyatakov, Preobrazhensky, Blumkin, Beloborodov, etc. - lost their lives because of the policies of the Soviet bureaucracy. But if Stalin and his associates were able to build an actual, stable socialist society in the Soviet Union - none of that would have mattered. But they were not able to do so. And their theories can not help us build that society - that is what I hold. And that is why I, as a Trotskyist, reject, albeit critically (one should not overlook the real accomplishments of the Soviet state), the legacy of "Stalinism". The number of people killed has nothing to do with it.

I would advise you to read something about all tendencies. There are a number of study guides on this site that can help you with this, and you can always ask questions in the Learning forum, or by PM. If you are interested, I could suggest additional reading in orthodox Trotskyist theory and history. Others could do the same for their tendencies. Read about them, think about the issues they raise and how they have impacted the labour movement, and decide for yourself.

And don't be afraid to make mistakes. If you are new to communism, that will most likely happen, unless you can attack yourself to a strong, class-conscious organisation. But don't be afraid to be criticised and don't be afraid to correct yourself.

Communism is either the classless, stateless phase of social development, developing out of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the destruction of capitalism, or the movement that aims to destroy the present society and to organise the proletariat as the ruling class.

The CPUSA, despite its name, seems to be little more than a front group for Democrats these days, like the various "democratic socialist" organisations. There are a number of communist organisations in the United States; you should try to find one that is active in your area and whose political line you agree with. I would just advise you to stay away from the RCPUSA and the SEP, those are cults and not parties.

[The Idler]

Stalin was not a communist.
Up to you if you want to be open, but friends and family are different from members and sympathisers, not all will be interested.
All parties calling themselves communist are unpopular.
Don't know how many communists there are, but don't join the CPUSA.

[Per Levy]

@Questionable: i'll make it brief, furr is not taken seriously by anyone except stalinists and thats only because he says what stalinists want to hear. if you wanted to give him something to read about history then why not something more credible?

@op: one thing we all can agree on is that the cpusa is shit and that you'll waste your time and money joining them. if you want a marxist-leninist party that is actually active and not a part of the democratic party, the psl(party for socialism and liberation) migth be more your thing. and stalin is whole can of worms that probally desere their own threads. hope that helps a little, and i hope sectarian jabs are a minimum in my post.

[Anglo-Saxon Philistine]

Aren't the PSL mainly Marcyites, though? I know most of our PSL members are Marxists-Leninists, but I was always under the impression that the PSL leadership takes the same line as the WWP.

[Geiseric]

OP listen! You need to educate yourself so you don't fall for sectarian bullshit. Read capital vol. 1, Imperialism by Lenin, The transitional program by trotsky, and classic marx and engels at first. Learn vicariously through participating in debates. Over all though learn history, especially modern, through the lense of historical materialism (lol also learn what that is).

Check out the 4th international page if you want, I consider myself lucky that i met them before the other whack jobs on the radical left like sparts or PSL, both of whom support assanine theories and movements such as Assad and Ghadaffi (psl) or the USSR's historic social imperialism over hungary and afghanistan (sparts). I'm 18 so I was right where you were not too long ago. education is power though so focus on that. Marxists.org is a great resource with everything you need. Stalinoids are dillusional about basic ussr history so i wouldn't really listen to them about much.

[mybloodisred]

Sorry, but every time I see a post like this I think it's a troll.

"New Communist" ?


So guys I have been interested in Communism for a while and finally did research on it, and I love the aspect of it, the socialist society is a utopian society. [...] I feel that I am a Marxist-Leninist

lol

Then he asks:

So, tell me in a very brief way of explaining what is Communism?

What is communism? a question from a Marxist-Leninist.

[Anglo-Saxon Philistine]

OP listen! You need to educate yourself so you don't fall for sectarian bullshit.

Check out the 4th international page if you want, I consider myself lucky that i met them before the other whack jobs on the radical left like sparts or PSL[...]

Non-sectarianism, comrades. Pure, undiluted non-sectarianism.

[Geiseric]

Non-sectarianism, comrades. Pure, undiluted non-sectarianism.

I don't care about them. I speak only the truth, I have no respect for the praxis of either.