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RevolutionaryMarxist
1st September 2006, 06:59
Please Comment on what parts sound out of place or awkward, It is rather late but I suddenly got the inspiration.

I already have in mind a few parties/groups to send this too, but please suggest some more groups that are willing to accept letters and such.

Thanks :)

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A Letter to the Revolutionary Parties of the World
What has happened to the days when millions ran out cheering with flags and banners of red? Where are the modern Paris Communes? Why does the mass majority of the proletariat think socialism is dead, and communists are idiotic maniacs?

There is only one answer to these questions – and this is the most critical question facing our entire revolutionary movement as of now, and will consistently be facing it forever until we finally overstep it together.

We are not united.

Instead of the Bourgeois dividing us, we have cut ourselves into our own little cults and sects – around the world there are literally thousands of revolutionary parties, for whenever one person disagrees with the voice of their party, they run away and form a new one. This trend began all the way back in the early 1900’s with the split of the Socialist and Communist groups, and now we see its results – these thousands of miniscule and weak organizations floating around doing nothing. I could list them, but that would waste both time and words for there are simply too many. There is no coordination around the world in any significant magnitude, and from that thus there is no actual gain in the revolutionary movement. A protest organized here and there is nothing but symbolism without practical gain. A grain of action is worth more than all the idealism and theory you can eat.

Our own personal disputes on theory matter little – if we actually break down the entire revolutionary movement for a bit of theory, then we are nothing more than selfish idealists blinded with bourgeois intellectualism. As materialists and those proponents of Marx we must see how much in common we all have with each other; our common strive against capitalism and religion, for materialism and against idealism – differences on history matter little, for the present is what we live in and history is forever gone. We throw away the bad and learn from the good – and when we finally cross a issue that we disagree on and that is actually relevant – we must together confront the question instead of splintering away into another international or party.

With all this constant dispute among the different revolutionary movements, we have lost sight of our actual target – the proletariat. Instead of a united front the proletariat don’t even see an actual revolutionary party anymore – most don’t know that there is or even was a Communist party of the United States. Membership in revolutionary parties worldwide have severely declined, both from disillusion with the parties and the countless splits within them. Most parties possess very similar theory – it is usually minor political and personal disputes that create new movements that fight as hard against the other revolutionary movement as they do against capitalism.

We fight against the past, and we fight as incarnates of the future. We see the future, and aid the present smoothly into it, and we cannot be distracted from our most dire and important goal. The future is inevitable, and when the revolution comes it will be fates hand that plays the final choices for the world – not a Central Committee or single party. As true historical materialists we must recognize the inevitability of it all. We are just the ones who aid the spark of fire into creation, which then spreads into a wildfire of revolution, but we are not the handlers of the spark. Once the spark is lit, it will follow its own course – burning through those who seek to guide or limit it. That is what we must recognize, that our duty is to create the spark of revolution in the hearts of the people.

This letter may sound desperate to some but that is because this situation is desperate – if not considered very soon the entire world revolutionary movement will crumble into pieces, and in the end even the proletariat may turn against us. To rebuild our movement stronger than before we must acknowledge our true mistakes and replace them with better tactics. Not anymore just printing out newspapers and attempting to hand them out, useless protests of solidarity which do more to make proletariat afraid than curious, but actual action. Action is the only useful thing in the world. Theory is but a luxury. The proletariat have no luxury – they need action.

Whether Trotksyist, Socialist, Communist, Anarchist, Leninist, Marxist, Maoist…we are all revolutionaries, and all on the same side – the incarnates fighting for the inevitable future. We are not the reactionaries and feudalists on the other side of the spectrum who also oppose modern civilization. We are one side of this political and social spectrum, and so it has been a staple of idiocy to declare that we are not. First comes the enemy, then comes our disputes – and while we dispute, our enemy of capitalism is growing ever stronger. After the revolution, the proletariat will decide for themselves. The United Front is what I called for! The union of all the revolutionary parties of the world in one common front against Capitalism, Feudalism, and their babies. A new international in which all the old internationals and parties are welded together into one ultimate and efficient machine of direct action – for those who say that such a centralized machine is against our principles, if we continue with our unorganized tantrums like now then we have no future.

What hope of uniting the people do we have if we cannot even unite amongst ourselves? United we stand, divided we fall.

Marx had said that the choice that faced the world would be socialism or death – and if we do not face this problem now, the inevitable outcome will be death for all.

elmo sez
2nd September 2006, 00:49
Hmmm but how can we get them to unite? Perhaps some kind of confrence , but how can we guaruntee that they will go or that they wont leave . Its worth a shot in my opinion

RevolutionaryMarxist
2nd September 2006, 03:25
Of Course such a event would literally be a pivotal point in the whole movement - and yes I am guessing like a grand congress, but many parties now are so egotistic that they would even refuse to do that.

YSR
2nd September 2006, 03:32
That's because grand summits don't really accomplish anything. Why appoint party members to draft policy for a whole revolutionary movement? That's only asking to lead to irrelevence.

In terms of international communication among leftists, I've been impressed with what I've head about the People's Global (Alliance? Action? something like that) that sprung from the spirit of Zapatismo. Additionally, though they are thorougly dominated by reformists, I think the Social Forum model serves as an excellent way to foster communication. If we leftists can give these groups a more radical push, we'll be doing our part.

RevolutionaryMarxist
2nd September 2006, 05:27
That's because grand summits don't really accomplish anything. Why appoint party members to draft policy for a whole revolutionary movement? That's only asking to lead to irrelevence.

Well, if you look to the methods of the Comintern (I'm not supporting thier actual actions but only pointing out the scope of thier actions), their organization was extremely effective in coordinating revolutionary movements worldwide, and very effectively so. Yet perhaps this is not a good example as the USSR was mainly the director of the Comintern.

Yet pointing to modern institutions, many grand summits are very useful for declaring policies and detailed plans of actions - for example WTO is very effective at directing capitalist activities, and so are numerous other capitalist summits. Their organizational methods could be used very effectively. Lenin had said the major flaw of many parties was their refusal to use both the Non-Legal and Legal institutions and methods to destroy Capitalism.



I have re-edited it a bit better too (Which i posted on the top of the thread), yet also here so far is a proposed list of mine to send possibly letters to.

Please comment on whether these organizations are either unfit, unwilling to listen, or the such. I know there are a lot more, but right now I feel really fatigued and didn't feel like looking around for more.

Large Internationals:

Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (www.awtw.org/rim/index.htm)

International Bureau for the Revolutionary Party (http://www.ibrp.org/)

International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations (Unity & Struggle) (http://www.kpd-online.info/mlcon)

International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations (International Newsletter) (http://www.icmlpo.de/)

International Working People's Association (http://www.iwpa-aigt.org/news.php)

Reunified Fourth International (http://www.isg-fi.org.uk/fi/fi1.htm / http://internationalviewpoint.org/)

International Marxist Tendency (http://www.marxist.com / http://www.socialistappeal.org/)

Socialist International (http://www.socialistinternational.org/main.html)

International Anarchist Federation (http://www.iaf-ifa.org/)

International Socialist Tendency (http://www.istendency.net/)

Small Internationals:

World Socialist Movement (http://www.worldsocialism.org/index.php)
International Leninist Current (http://www.ngy1.1st.ne.jp/~ieg/index-e.html)
International Communist Current (http://www.internationalism.org/)
International Workers Association (http://iwa-ait.org/)
The Fifth International (http://www.fifthinternational.org/index.php)

YSR
2nd September 2006, 06:49
Okay. Good point.

I guess that I don't disagree that these groups can't be effective, I'm just questioning that their effective for the type of revolution we should be striving for?

Can we seperate the actions of the Comintern from their methods? I'm not so sure. I don't want to have another USSR. I want to have communism. Should revolutionaries meet internationally and share information and tactics? Absolutely! This kind of communication is EXACTLY what we need to get some serious international solidarity going.

I think a lot of the groups you mentioned are really solid comrades (from what I know). I just fear anyone "directing" my activity as part of a "global strategy" for communism. That sounds like something from a U.S. propaganda flick from the Cold War.

EDIT: I'm really tired and this reads really shitty. I apologize.

Pantaloons
29th May 2009, 19:49
As a member and long time sympathizer of the IBRP I should say here that we in no way consider ourselves to be "THE" revolutionary party, or even an "International". We exist, as the original International Bureau of Left Fractions, based in Brussels existed before us, as a focal point around which revolutionary groups to the left of Trotskyism, and Stalinism could rally around. The idea is to provide an organization that does not claim to be the party but can provide as an international focus for groups of revolutionaries as they emerge on their own terrain. This is a different vision than those whose goal is to convert, prostletyze and grow mini-versions of their chosen mother party. Furthermore, while we have a number of established sections and dedicated cadres that is growing, we are small and not large. We've never lied about our size or the strength of our forces.

I'd like to add there are something like fourteen separate international organizations of trotskyism. I can't say about Maoism/Stalinism because I don't really pay any interest or attention to them except a fearful avoidance, of their venemous polemics, threats and physical intimidation.

I would also venture to say that the ICC do not claim to be an "International". Rather they might say they are aiming at a unitary international organization of revolutionaries. The ICC claims a larger number of militants than the IBRP. The ICC is probably larger than the Spart tendency at this point. Still, to put size in perspective we are talking about minute differences in the tiny numbers of cadres that are attracted to such organizations.

We aren't a part of any "left" that includes any state-capitalists or supporters of state-capitalism. We don't even want to be listed on the same page as such organizations. In fact the more distance we can put between ourselves and such tendencies the better it is for our own tendency.

I think that such broad divisions exist within a movement because, rather than just not being able to agree, serious differences emerge that are real, and that they don't all basically agree on the same things. These splits occur for tangible reasons beyond sectarianism. Revolutionaries today are still in a state of reforming themselves after the greatest counterrevolution in history (for us in organizations that grew out of left-communism that means "Marxism-Leninism"/Stalinism").

Revolutionary organizations should proliferate and fight and grow, it is out of tiny groups like the first Communist League back in the 1840s, that the bigger parties grow and fuse as the collective revolutionary impulse among workers matures, so do the political minorities that are dedicated to the emancipation of the working class. It is a dirty process, that cannot be wished away or purified. The best teacher is to learn by making ones own mistakes


"Large Internationals:

Revolutionary Internationalist Movement
International Bureau for the Revolutionary Party
International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations (Unity & Struggle)
International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations (International Newsletter)
International Working People's Association
Reunified Fourth International
International Marxist Tendency
Socialist International
International Anarchist Federation
International Socialist Tendency

Small Internationals:

World Socialist Movement
International Leninist Current
International Communist Current
International Workers Association
The Fifth International