Red Flag Letters

Red Flag aspires to be a newspaper of a new type for a party, dedicated to mobilizing the masses around the world for communism. We’re breaking new ground and learning as we go. We will inevitably make mistakes—and disagree about what the mistakes are that we’re making. The letters page is a good place for comrades to engage in criticism and self-criticism, and help us learn to write in a way that will advance the work. We ask writers to be brief, and to criticize in ways that are sharp, but comradely. Collectively we have a lot to learn.

LETTERS, CRITICISM AND SUGGESTIONS

Comrades in South Africa Write about their Political Experiences

I remember the first time I was invited to a meeting of ICWP. That was the first time I met comrades from all over the world.
At that time I was clueless about everything about capitalism and communism. So there were contradictions. But the comrades were struggling with me to have a better understanding of what communism is.
There has been a qualitative change and I can now confidently say that I know how the world is being operated by the capitalists. I understand it is a long battle to fight, but we can win this battle. And we have a powerful tool to use, which is mobilizing the masses for communism, to win our fellow brothers and sisters back.
And I also want to thank the comrades in my collective. We work very hard in struggling with some of the issues we are struggling against, by using the Dialectics material of course.
It is a better way. We can win, comrades, unlike what happened with the Bolsheviks in Russia and what happened in China. We can win.
Thanks again, I hope to hear from you all soon.
—Comrade Bogani, a member of ICWP in South Africa

I joined ICWP in December of last year before an international conference here in South Africa. I was never aware of communism before Comrade Kuhle, who lives in the same area, introduced me to communism and ICWP.
I was never a friend of these political parties in South Africa. Since we live in a capitalist society, our thinking is influenced by this society. And because of the South African history of apartheid, I joined a movement called the EMBO black movement which considers itself to be fighting for blacks.
Then Comrade Kuhle said to me that if we focus on race, then we cannot win the struggle, because the working class is the same, regardless of their skin color or their “race.”
So I started to attend the meetings. I remember my first meeting. I was quite shy. But I listened and as I read Red Flag and heard the stories of other people around the world, that’s when I got keen and I realized that what Comrade Kuhle said was actually true.
Our collective started to study dialectics. That was an eye-opener for me. It informed me to see that there is a great need for communism and for the masses to fight for communism. It is the only real solution to the problems that we are facing.
A world where there is no race discrimination, where there is no class division, no poverty. Production is not for profit. Production is for the needs of the working class, of the masses. I think that is what we must fight for.
Dialectics also teaches us about history and capitalism as a system. I believe that in order to fully understand communism, we must first understand capitalism as a system as well.
Even though what we get from the dialectics is good, I think the primary thing, in order for us to mobilize the masses for communism, is practice. The more we talk to people about communism, the more we engage with people, we red shirts of ICWP, the more members we can get to join the party. That is practice.
Theory plays a role in influencing people to join our party, influencing them to see the cause of their problems and the solutions. Many think that we cannot change society because they are under the impression that maybe things were meant to be this way, that we cannot fight for a better society; that we will live and die in this society. But there is a need to fight for a better society. What is better is communism.
What is primary is practice: recruitment, going to the factories, schools and telling people about capitalism and communism. While the theory is also important in actually understanding communism, I think what is primary for us is practice.
—Comrade Themba in South Africa

Before I joined the party I was in a movement at school called Embo Black Movement that is against white capitalists or white people, if I can put it that way. We were told not to trust a white person.
After joining ICWP I realized that it’s not about white people, it’s about the entire system and there are also black capitalists, and we have to fight them.
I used to believe in Socialism and reading the dialectics has made me aware that it also creates another class of Capitalism. The working class will continue suffering and being exploited.
—Comrade Fezile in South Africa

Recently, I had a discussion about our revolutionary struggle with a friend in the army. He asked what he would get in return if he joined the Party or fought for our cause. He commented that the drug trade offers money, and that’s why some in the military participate in it. Others feel that being in the army secures health insurance for their families; or if they die at work, their families will not be abandoned.
As he spoke, I thought of the history in which the military has been in favor of our class. I thought of our military pamphlet which explains the work of the military in our communist revolutionary struggle.
My friend described the poor working conditions in the military, the lack of equipment and uniforms which puts them at a disadvantage against organized crime. He said it was sad to see. They have to use their wages to buy expensive equipment in better condition. They feel that this gives them “better security.”
I commented, as I have said to other friends in this same sector, that maybe they don’t realize that the way they live and work is much worse than those who live in better conditions and whom they defend or die for. He answered that they know it, but they can’t do anything about it.
I told him that we must organize, that we need soldiers with class consciousness. However, he asked again what we offer him in return.
I replied:
We can offer the vision of a just, humane world, where hope exists. We have no money; but we have the dreams of millions in our hands.
He didn’t answer. I presented this discussion to two other friends in the same sector; one of them told me to be more patient, that things will happen in time.
These friends know that I belong to the Party and that I am a communist. They have read the military pamphlet. However, there is still much work to be done. These are friendships that I have forged with patience and objectivity. Maybe they will leave; maybe they will join the Party. I don’t know. I know that now with the friendships we have forged, we can talk about our communist world without being at risk. The greater risk is to miss opportunities to let them know our political line.
Workers of the World, let’s unite in only one Party, ICWP and fight for the liberation of our class. Join our struggle for a Communist society!
—Young Comrade in Mexico

Reject Nationalism, Fight Directly for Communism

I have been struggling with a very sharp young comrade in Chennai, India. He comes from a Hindu working-class family. Both of his parents, industrial workers, like us very much. His mother invited me to their house to talk with their son.
He had disagreements with our line of fighting directly for communism. His line was very straightforward: socialism leads to communism. I spent a day with him, but later he became a little bit distant. He was attracted to a revisionist party which criticizes the Communist Party of India and the old movement for not advancing Maoism.
After reading the literature of that party it was clear to me that the disagreement was really about nationalism. It was reflected in his outlook on the Dalit movement. We read an old article on the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, recent Red Flag articles on China, and of course Mobilize the Masses for Communism, with which he has had disagreements. We also decided to study dialectical materialism long-distance on WhatsApp.
Last night he sent me a text message: “Comrade, I would be honoured to join ICWP.”
This is a huge victory for us. This young comrade is very energetic and committed, now that he is convinced. He said that he has learned more in the last three months than in his entire life. Now he wants to put it in practice for communist revolution.

—Comrade in the US

Historical materialism teaches us that the class struggle is the motor of history. That is, “The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle.” (The Communist Manifesto)
Based on this, we communists affirm that the masses make history, not the great personalities or heroes as the capitalist historians would have us believe.
That is why we should stop using phrases like “we stand on the shoulders of giants.” When we talk about giants, I think we are referring to Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao and a few others.
If anything, we should say that “we stand on the shoulders of the masses who have gone before us and have fought heroically against exploitation and oppression.”
This does not mean that we don’t appreciate the contributions of our communist predecessors. But we must not forget that theory is nothing without the masses who put it into practice, and that practice itself is the product of the masses. That is, without the masses our “giants” would be nothing.
But, our duty to them and to our class is more than to be thankful and appreciate their contributions to the struggle for our emancipation from the capitalist yoke. Our duty and obligation is to analyze dialectically the theory and practice with which the masses were mobilized for revolution.
From the masses in motion we learn: from their successes and their mistakes. That is how we enrich and advance the theory and practice that will guarantee the eventual victory of a communist world.
Traditionally, the communists define this as an ongoing process, “from the masses to the masses and again from the masses to the masses.” Our goal must be to replace the handful of communists who have historically participated in and led this process with the masses themselves.
When hundreds and billions of communists participate in this process, there will not be any doubt that the masses are the real giants, the architects of history. For that, we must mobilize the masses directly for communism. They, in turn, will mobilize even larger numbers of masses for this goal. Our guiding principle, Mobilize the Masses for Communism, will ensure that this process is continuous.
—A Comrade

“Did you read the article about the strike in the last edition?” a Red Flag distributor asked a factory worker who was waiting to go into work.
“Yes,” the worker answered, “even though the article didn’t name the factory, everyone knew that it was here. Now the boss, Maria, says that she has savings.”
The worker referred to something that happened during the strike when 100 garment workers stopped working to demand increases in the piece rate (or price per operation) that the boss pays.
A garment worker asked the boss, Maria, during the strike, “Could you live on wages paid for only five hours of work a day?” The boss only allows five hours for workers who don’t produce enough to cover the minimum wage.
“No,” answered Maria, “That’s why I have my savings.”
The worker answered, “Our labor produced your savings.”
The boss acknowledged this and said, “Yes, I know, but I deserve these savings because I am intelligent.”
—Red Flag distributors

“It looks like there are fewer workers,” commented the Red Flag distributor to a worker at the Magic Denim Wash laundry in East Los Angeles.
The worker responded, “Yes. There are fewer because they are sending the work to Mexico.”
The Red Flag distributor asked. “Why? Are the bosses looking to increase their profits since they pay so much less in Mexico?”
The worker explained, “No, it’s not that. It’s because they raised the minimum wage here in California. The boss of this laundry will have to charge more for the work. Some companies that send work here do not want to pay the increase and are sending their work to Mexico.”
The Red Flag distributor pointed out, “The same thing is happening or will happen in the Atomic Denim factory a few blocks from here. The boss says that the minimum wage will be $12 next year, and she can’t pay it. That’s why she is going to move the factory to Mexico. She will be able to super-exploit the Mexican workers because the minimum wage there is 73.04 pesos, or $4.32 a day.”
“It’s true, but it would be better if they didn’t raise the minimum here. It’s useless. The bosses just raise the price of everything. Instead of helping us, the raise hurts us. Many of us will lose our jobs,” concluded the worker.
The Red Flag distributor told the worker, “You’re right about that. Capitalism has us in a Catch-22. The only way of ending this is getting rid of capitalism with a communist revolution. In communism, there won’t be money or wages. Nothing will be bought or sold, especially our labor power. We will all receive according to our needs and contribute according to our commitment and abilities. That’s why we distribute our newspaper, Red Flag, here.”
“Thank you. I’ll read it. We have to do something,” the worker said as he went into work.
—Los Angeles Comrades

FIGHT FOR COMMUNISM!

International Communist Workers Party

Letters to Red Flag

	FIGHT FOR COMMUNISM!
	International Communist Workers Party


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