Need More Concrete Answers to Concrete Questions

The article about Boeing layoffs made an important point about the need to write and talk more about communist production and organization will be like in practice.  But I don’t think the article itself did this very well.  A great deal of it was still about capitalism.  And mostly what it said about communism is what it won’t have:  layoffs, ledgers, SEC, companies.  It says important things about communist principles but mainly in a pretty abstract and general way. 
Here are some questions that are left unanswered:
Who will “decide we need less of something” (or more of something) and how will those decisions be made by our international party?  How will the mobilized masses be organized to make sure that society “produces what we need when we need it”?   What political or ideological struggle would we expect to carry out to make this happen?
In place of the capitalists’ bean-counting and marketplace, how will workers mobilized for communism keep track of what resources are needed to carry out our plans?  Of what is actually produced and where it goes?
Certainly “collectivity will consistently spur innovation by unleashing the creative potential of the working class.”  But “if it’s good for the masses, we’ll find a way to do it” is too abstract and general.  At least we can start talking about how communist principles would guide the creative process. 
How will we decide, for example, whether to try to design planes that operate on renewable resources?  Or try to reduce the need for planes altogether by radically decentralizing production and using communication technologies to bring the masses closer worldwide? 
Will industrial production still be organized largely around assembly lines?  How, concretely, will work be restructured so that workers do many different tasks?  Does that only mean that factory workers will do different tasks within the factory, or will they also work in agriculture, health care, child care, cultural endeavors, etc?  How will we break down gender segregation of so many occupations?
“We will ask all to contribute, both physically and mentally,” but what will we do when some workers complain that others aren’t doing their share?  In concrete terms, how will collectives help to resolve disagreements and conflicts among the masses generally?
Certainly in communist society “there will be no need to divide” the working class.  Indeed, there will be every need to take concrete measures to eliminate all the remnants of capitalism’s racism, sexism, the division of “skilled” and “unskilled” workers and the like.  How will this be done?
I hope that our comrades and friends at Boeing will consider questions like these and many more. All of us should do the same!  Then we could collectively produce a series of articles for Red Flag that explore them in detail.  Part of that discussion should be how our practice today can prepare for the work of our communist future.
--Curious comrade

“I was blown away”

  Although I was raised by parents who were and still are active members of the communist party, here I was, 26 years of age, and had hardly any knowledge of what communism was or what it stood for. My parents' involvement has always been somewhat of a mystery to me, to no fault of their own. I didn't express interest or curiosity until recently.
My dad had a trip planned to Los Angeles for some meetings, and I asked if I could go with him to visit some colleges and also see what he was doing. Some fellow comrades graciously opened up their home to us, and allowed us to stay with them while we were there. They told me that I could come stay there whenever I wanted, and that I should consider their home as my own. I've never met anyone so welcoming and generous.
Then, I went to my first meeting, not as a child. The meeting took place in a comrade's backyard, where plastic outdoor chairs were arranged in a circle and fresh coffee and authentic Salvadorian tamales were provided for everyone. It was a very inviting yet humble environment.
I have to admit that my first impression of the members of this meeting was not great. A moment I am not proud of, all of the stereotypes and preconceived notions of certain races and people's appearances popped into my head when I looked around. I wondered if some of these people even knew what communism was or if they were just blindly participating to be part of some community.
One of the main objectives of the communist movement is to end racism, and here I was, unintentionally yet blatantly judging all of these comrades based on their outer appearances, clothing, accents, and the color of their skin. After listening to each of these comrades speak, sharing their insights, experiences, knowledge and passion for the party, I was immediately blown away. In that moment, all of those stereotypes and ideas that I had been carrying around with me vanished. It was one of the most eye opening experiences I've ever had. Each one of these comrades said something that was incredibly articulate, thoughtful, and essentially the opposite of what I thought. These people had far more to offer than i ever could have anticipated. I honestly felt like I was surrounded by some of the most intelligent, profound, and caring individuals, I have ever had the privilege of encountering.
The most incredible part of this whole experience was that the mission of ICWP to end racism was being executed organically. The intellect and capability of these comrades challenged everything I had originally thought about them.
I guess the takeaway here is that no matter what type of environment you are raised in, in this day and age, racist ideology seeps through and is planted into our minds at a young age. If everyone could have a similar experience to the one I had, that would be optimal, but I don't know how realistic that is. All I can say is that I am forever grateful for my experience at the meeting, and I want to thank all of the comrades who were there.

-- a student

Comrades In South Africa Share Message From Red Flag Reader In Lebanon

The comrade in Lebanon was very young when the fascist Israeli army systematically razed homes and killed many civilians.  He was in the midst of this brutal occupation that lasted several weeks.  After reading Red Flag the comrade from Lebanon said that communism is the only solution to every problem we face.  He is translating some of our literature into Arabic and has planned a meeting with others to form a group around the ideas of ICWP. 
The commitment and determination displayed by the comrade in Lebanon reminded me of the virtues of sacrifice and selflessness we used to have during the liberation struggle, the fight against apartheid. I guess this makes one reconnect with what one used to have.
In South Africa, the period beginning in 1948 until the early 90’s is often referred to as the height of apartheid. The struggle by the masses against this barbaric system also intensified. There was a time when passive resistance by the masses was crushed and the leadership was jailed. Others were served with banning orders and forced into exile.
A period of lull ensued for a while but came to an end when the decision to take up arms was pursued by the younger generation outside of the formal decision-making structures of the organization, the African National Congress in particular.
The formation of the armed wing reverberated all over the country and reinvigorated the youth resulting in unrest in schools beginning in 1976. Many young people left the country to take up arms. They were motivated by selflessness and were prepared to fight and die for the liberation of the people.
For those of us who remained inside the country, the same spirit of selflessness, sharing and caring for one another played out immensely amongst comrades. We somehow knew that what we are fighting for would not be realized in our lifetime but for the generations to come.
Hence cadres were prepared to die, believing that their blood will nourish the tree of liberation. Indeed, most died and some are unaccounted for up to this day. They are buried in unmarked graves in neighbouring countries. There are parents who have since passed on without knowing what had happened to their loved ones.
These are stories we need to tell. The glue that held the struggle against apartheid tight seems to have loosened off. We are now feeling the betrayal of the “revolution” by the erstwhile leadership. Even today we hear shouts of socialism instead of fighting directly for communism.
This role is what the ICWP must fulfill and win this struggle. We therefore need to work a little bit harder to avenge the deaths of many combatants, cadres of the revolutionary communist movement all over the world. We dare not fail.

We Need a Clearer Vision of a World Without Money

Dear Red Flag,
I am much enjoying the series about how your party intends comradely relations to replace money. An attractive vision! An elderly comrade I spoke with thought that idle dreaming, as to what the future would be like, is not important: time enough, after the Revolution, to work out the details.
I disagree. Who joins a Christian church without dreaming of the glorious heaven to come? What immigrant family begins a long and dangerous trek without imagining the happy land waiting at the end of the road? In these cases, serious disappointment may follow.
But the Revolution cannot be built on blind faith. How can people be expected to join this great movement--involving some sacrifice and risk after all—without a fairly clear cut picture of the society they intend to build? I am pleased that Red Flag is beginning to provide some of the details.
The comrade I mentioned above, I would suggest, is reflecting, not a ‘left’ or ‘right’ leaning, but a typically American one: pragmatism. Formally, the term “pragmatism” refers to a branch of bourgeois philosophy crafted by the American William James. Informally, it reflects our sayings, “We can work it out”, or “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it”. It’s suggesting that rigorous planning and attention to detail are not so important. Pragmatism is part of America’s strength and part of its weakness. One can take this back to our War of Independence: England made fun of our colonists; they called us “Yankee Doodle,” that is, fools.  We responded along the lines of, “Sure, we’re simple country folk. But we’ll figure out a way to beat you Brits.”
The biggest theoretical advance in Communist thinking, that I’ve seen, has been this notion of eliminating direct remuneration for labor. I learn from your articles that Lenin had this in mind, but never implemented it. Maybe he found it wasn’t as simple as it sounds!
The solution I’ve read about in these and other articles are pretty soft and fuzzy. People may travel and stay in hotels, but would have to cook and clean up after themselves. Okay, the hotel will look like a youth hostel:  a mess!  In the article’s second part (Vol. 6 No. 23) you use pants as an example: “Our garment workshop is running out of denim. Can a few of you help out at the textile mill?” That sounds cozy, but I’ve worked in factories. It’s not safe in there if you don’t know what you’re doing?
And how about that travel? Do you put out a call? “Hey, guys and gals, we need some volunteers to staff our airport control towers. And by the way, the pilots are refusing to work (surprise, surprise). Does anyone know how to fly a plane?”
The science of economics—“the dreary science”—has to do with how a society allocates scarce resources. Anyone who’s ever been at the top of that process, from Colonel Kaddafi to Jimmy Carter, knows those decisions involve considerable pain.
I look forward eagerly to further thoughts on building a society without money. Just don’t assume the process will be easy!
East Bay Progressive

The First Time’s the Hardest

For the last few months, I’ve been using public transportation—buses and trains —a lot. I’m basically bilingual, and I like people, and so I’ve talked to many passengers: young and “old” workers, students and homeless people. This has reinforced my belief that the vast majority of the working class is essentially anti-racist. However, it’s not surprising that no one said anything when the Sikh driver was attacked by the racist because we in the working class are strenuously trained to be passive starting in kindergarten.
    I also can understand bus drivers’ frustration caused by MTA pressure and a few passengers who are rude or who have mental problems. As a former long-distance telephone operator, I know how a few —or even one— rude person can infuriate you!
    But I have seen so many bus drivers show compassion for homeless people and skillfully deflect the anger of passengers (a very small number) who have mental problems that I know —not think, but know—that the vast majority of bus drivers are amazing. They have an incredibly hard job—driving all day in traffic—and constantly having to face difficult situations - and they deal with all this beautifully!
    What every Red Flag reader must do is to swallow our fear, defend the member of the working class (that includes homeless people) who’s being attacked and take leadership. The first time’s the hardest, but it gets easier every time.
--Bus rider comrade

Criticism: Too Much Communism & Violence in Red Flag

Thanks to my friend and your comrade, I have had some editions of Red Flag in my hands and before anything else, I wanted to salute the initiative. My father always believed in the revolution and I grew up with the ideas that he taught me. I went with him to the demonstrations. I was raised with a very critical eye about our system, a system that always
seemed to me to be incoherent, unjust, and above all absurd.
However, I wanted to give my humble point of view after reading several articles in Red Flag. I know the articles are written by common people and probably more than one without journalistic training, but it hurts a little to see the amount of propaganda present in the articles. They are very condensed articles. It appears that when one has little space to inform a reader it is preferable to deepen the arguments instead of repeating several times the same advocacy of communism.
Of course it is necessary to do so but, I think, that repeating it in every article written can spoil the vision that the reader has of communism. Unfortunately, the image of communism has been and continues being dragged in the mud, dirtied by the media, by history, and by “false communism” and the reader could see this publicity as something that is a little aggressive.
If this person already has Red Flag in their hands and decides to read it, it is not necessary to repeat 15 times that they must support the movement, they already took the first step, and it is the quality and relevance of the articles that will make them act and struggle.
Another point that also bothered me is the call for armed struggle as the only tangible tool to defeat capitalism. Isn’t our earth sufficiently damaged by the destruction caused by weapons? Isn’t it already sufficiently red with the blood of its massacred children? If all the people, through communication, education, and dialogue, come to realize the horrible and obsolete stupidity that is capitalism and begin to form movements to sustain themselves and survive without it, through a boycott for example, capitalism would disintegrate on its own. Without consumers capitalism cannot survive.
Anyway, thank you for struggling, for having faith in the strength of the people. Keep writing. Books have been and will continue to be the most efficient bombs against capitalist power.
--A French Student in Spain