FIGHT FOR COMMUNISM!
	International Communist Workers Party
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Response to “I hate Capitalism, but I have doubts about Communism”

                   We read your letter (RF v. 6 #17) and the concerns that you expressed about communism. We know that capitalism means hunger, poverty, exploitation and oppression for the working class.
The area in which you work—marketing and sales—deals precisely with placement and selling of goods or services, the majority of which are not necessary for society. We discussed the issue with a friend and concluded that under capitalism the bosses impose patterns of consumption and behavior on society through their advertising media, television, and internet.  Then they control the production of goods; that is, they produce A or B according to the tastes and preferences that they have imposed.
This scheme is known as the free market, neoliberalism, and globalization; here a consumer society is created. But the production of consumer goods is controlled by the ruling class that owns the means of production, The same class  uses misleading advertising to sell, and monopolizes what in appearance is consumer preference.  For example, advertising induces the consumption of Coca-Cola, a certain brand of beer, or a certain brand of tennis shoes.
Under capitalism, the use value of the product doesn’t matter, what matters is its exchange value. Therefore, the working class is exploited to get maximum profit that goes into the pockets of the ruling class.
In communism, on the other hand, full importance will be given to use value. In this sense we think that commercial advertising should be abolished, advertising as it is now. During the building of communism, publicity should fulfill a role, but not of a commercial type. Instead, there should be massive publicity campaigns against racism, against exploitation, embracing communism, and that’s where we think that you can contribute.
Mobilize the Masses for Communism establishes as one of our guiding principles: “From each according to their commitment and capabilities, to each according to their needs.” which is reason enough to show that there is no motive for everything to be homogenous.
In the ICWP we are all different, but we are the same class. We have the same goal: communist revolution to abolish capitalism and with it the wage system and class society.  There is not only one single expression. There is criticism; we are guided by practice as the measure of truth.  We invite you to join us in the struggle for Communism with the International Communist Workers’ Party.
—Comrades in Mexico

Same Enemy, Same Fight

Steel production illustrated how overproduction puts capitalism on trial in last issue’s editorial. Since then, the crisis has spread.
According to the Swiss investment bank UBS the world now has an annual 553 metric tons of excess steel-production capacity. That’s roughly the equivalent of 11,000 Montana-class battleships.
Imagine how many medical facilities, educational centers, apartments and community centers we could build with that much steel. That’s exactly what we’d do under communism (after we’ve beaten the bosses’ military). The ICWP would mobilize the masses to produce steel (and everything else) to provide for our collective needs.
But under this capitalist system overproduction is bad news for workers. Every day it’s getting worse.
The editorial notes the threat to the South African and Mexican steel industries. The British newspaper The Independent says one in six UK steel workers will lose their jobs this month. Another 1,200 will be laid off as TATA shuts sites throughout England and Scotland.
The U.S. heartland is next. The drop in commodity prices has sent an economic chill across a broad swath of the Midwest from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border.
West Texas oil rigs have shut down. The drilling rigs, with their deep underground pipes, consumed much of the steel produced at the mammoth United States Steel plant outside of St. Louis. The company told  more than 2,000 steel workers they are likely to be laid off next month. Miners who supply raw materials will follow.
I remember chanting “Same Enemy, Same Fight, Workers of the World Unite” at demonstrations. Overproduction has made it clear: the fight is to mobilize the masses for communism.
—U.S. industrial worker

Industrial Workers in South Africa Gobble Up Red Flag

Red Flag: Food for Thought

My comrades and I went to an industrial area in town. It was lunch time so most of the workers were going to have some lunch. Then we met with four workers at the gate of a truck company called Nampark. They told us that they were there as early as 6 am and when we met them at 1 pm they were still looking for work. But there were no jobs. They were told this by the company.
So we told them about our party. One guy asked me an interesting question, “What’s in it for us?”
We explained to him that under communism they won’t need to look for work because
everyone will have work. We would not produce for the market because we will abolish that, including  money. They were very impressed. They asked for copies of Red Flag and they told us that they would also attend the conference.
After that we met some other workers as they were sitting preparing to eat their lunch. We gave them the Red Flag. They asked us what the difference is between us and the South African Communist Party (S.A.C.P.). We told them that the S.A.C.P. was trying to reform the system but we wanted to destroy it because it was unjust and evil. They told us that we should leave a few of the papers for their friends in the township, so we did.
—Comrades in South Africa

Communist Internationalism

After a two-day long journey, I finally arrived in South Africa. Since then I have lived a new experience, getting to know comrades from ICWP and a different culture.
I have seen comrades that I already knew and have met new comrades. In these few days I have learned a lot about their culture, language, food, houses and their experiences. The living conditions of the working class are similar throughout the world. Therein lies our potential.
Our problems are similar. The government of the African National Congress (ANC) tried to raise tuition so high that only 1 of every 10 South African youths would be able to afford an education.
It’s ironic and disgusting that the ANC once promised free capitalist education. The work-ing class in South Africa, like the working class in El Salvador, has learned that we cannot achieve a decent life within capitalism through negotiations and elections. The fight for communist revolution is our only option.
This city is a clear example of the capitalist system and the legacy of Apartheid that it keeps alive. You can see the contrast be-tween black working-class neighborhoods and neighborhoods where the bosses live, which are mostly white.
“Many things have not changed. It’s true that today we have the ‘freedom’ to be where we want, since there are no longer exclusive places for white people, but there is no economic freedom. We keep living in the same places, and we keep working for low wages,” the comrade who is hosting me said. Capitalism promotes the illusion of freedom but no real freedom.
In capitalism, traveling the world is a privilege that the majority of workers cannot afford. Again, we have the illusion of freedom. In these days I have had time to think about how in a communist society, free from borders and racism, the human race will advance as never before.
In communism, we will be able to know the world and exchange experiences and know-ledge among all of humanity. It will be a big change including in communist education. There won’t be borders or money that prevent us from knowing things with our own eyes.
It was a gratifying and exciting experience to distribute our newspaper Red Flag to the
workers today. Two other comrades and I went to an industrial area. As we walked, we talked and handed Red Flag to the workers who were returning to their homes or beginning their shifts. Workers from different industries were reading communist literature.
We also met one of our comrades on his lunch break. He showed us the factory where he works and we continued our work.
This first experience shows the great potential that we have as a party in an industrial city. The working class is organizing worldwide. The party is putting communist internationalism into practice and this must motivate us to participate more actively for ICWP and Red Flag.
—Young Worker Comrade

Newly Elected President of Guatemala: Racist Buffon

The Red Flag article on Guatemala in the last issue says correctly that the greatest crime of ex-president Molina was “racist genocide against the country’s indigenous population.” The newly elected president, Jimmy Morales, is no better — maybe, worse.
He recently said he doesn’t believe genocide was committed during the 36-year civil war, which killed 200,000 mostly indigenous workers.
What else could be expected of a comedian who built his career portraying the racist blackface stereotype Black Pitaya. Pitaya spoke in an infantile voice making self-deprecating racist jokes.
Morales continues to defend the character, which also appears in a line of shampoos and beauty products. Black Pitaya may not be the worst of his crimes, but to allow the leading presidential character to wallow in such racist depictions is unacceptable. Racism matters: in Guatemala and everywhere!
The Red Flag article was right. The masses must mobilize for communist revolution. Only then can we build a world without racist blackface comedians that promote racist genocide.

—Seattle comrade

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