FIGHT FOR COMMUNISM!
	International Communist Workers Party
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LOS ANGELES—“Would you like another copy of Red Flag for a friend?” asked a comrade at a Metropolitan Transit Authority division.
“Sure. My brother-in-law is Cuban,” answered the MTA operator.
“Well, Cuba was never communist.”
“I know. They were something else.”
“Yes, Cuba is socialist. Socialism kept money, wages, wage differentials and privileges. This gave rise to a new capitalist class that today oppresses and exploits its workers. Communism will eliminate money and exploitation.”
“So, you think it is better to live without money?”
“Yes. For thousands of years, people in this continent and the world over lived without money. No one was exploited. They all contributed their share of work and collectively shared the fruits of their labor. No one was rich, and no one was poor.”
“That was then. How can you do that now without money?”
“Because, money, in and of itself, has no value. It can’t produce anything. Only human labor can do that. Everything sold on the market – food, cars, houses, garments, etc. – is produced by our labor. The capitalists’ labor doesn’t produce anything. They must buy our labor power in order for us to produce goods for them. These products – like food, houses, etc.–originally only have use value, which means they can satisfy some human need. The bosses exchange or sell these products for money. Communism will distribute those goods freely according to need.  Also without money, some workers will produce food, others will construct houses, and others will provide health care services …”
“You mean communism will have some kind of barter system?”
“No, it is completely different. In the barter system, even though no money would be used, things would still have an exchange value: something would be exchanged for something else. The exchange or barter would only take place if the two things are similar in value. A cow, for example, is worth much more than a chicken, and would only be bartered for many chickens. Thus some products would be considered more valuable than others and their producers would be more important.
“Communism is different. No matter how little or how much we each contribute to society, we will all have our needs met.  All decisions of planning, producing and distributing will be done collectively. No product will be more valuable than another and no producer more important than others.”
“It all sounds good. But, I still don’t understand completely how it can be done without money,” said the operator before driving off.
In another division, another operator said he did not think we could live without money. These operators and many other people are struggling with the idea of living in a world without money. We communists must become better at explaining how this is possible. In a brief conversation, like the ones our comrades had with the MTA operators, it is not completely possible to fully explain.
That is why MTA workers who agree with much of Red Flag’s message need to come to our Party’s study groups for deeper discussions. A few days ago, we met with two workers, one from MTA, and we discussed this and other topics at length.
There we explained that everything of value in society is produced by the working class. The capitalists steal the use value our labor produces and impose exchange value on it. In other words, they exchange or sell it for money.
For them only the exchange value matters. They couldn’t care less how the product is used as long as it is sold. If they can’t sell it, they would rather destroy it than give it away. Thus, food is thrown away while millions starve to death.
Not only does money not produce anything, but the money system actually destroys much of the use value we produce. When not able to be sold profitably, food rots, houses are boarded up; medicines are left to expire, etc.
Since under capitalism we can’t survive without money, many people think that we can’t survive without money—period. But what we need to survive, and all that we need to survive, is the use value that we workers produce. In communism, this use value will be used only to satisfy everyone’s needs.
Money prevents this from happening. It enslaves us to the capitalists to whom we must sell our labor power in order to survive. Getting rid of money will humanize the planning, production and distribution of our use value. It will allow us to realize the full potential of our humanity. No longer will we be wage slaves but fully productive creative human beings!

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