Factory workers fight for a world without money here ♦ How can communism work without money? here ♦
Factory Workers Fight for a Society Without Money
EL SALVADOR— “I feel happy because I see that the red flag has not been lost, that there are comrades who are still fighting and don’t let it fall,” said a worker attending a meeting of the International Communist Workers’ Party (ICWP) for the first time. He was invited by a worker comrade.
In the meeting, after the greeting, it was explained what ICWP is, where there are collectives, and that our goal is a communist society. Four workers attended for the first time.
A comrade worker leader said, “No one is going to leave this meeting thinking the same as before. Our task is to mobilize the workers for communism.”
Two friends who were attending for the first time, a woman and man, participated in this year’s May Day march with ICWP. A couple of workers from another area pledged to continue fighting for communism.
We talked about society without money. Currently with the approval of the new Bitcoin law here, there are many questions about it, and also concern. Governments invent a law tailored to their needs, to benefit economic groups.
Historically, money has taken different forms and workers haven’t benefited from any of them. Past civilizations used Cacao as currency. They chose it because they considered cacao as a drink of the gods. That’s because money has always been equated with something of value as a backup, as with the dollar and gold.
Later, with capitalism, the Spanish introduced the Real in Central America. The macaques and morlacos were pieces of silver. They appeared as a kind of brass coins on fincas (farms), with the name of the farm. Bosses used them to pay the workers, who in turn had to use them to buy food in the bosses’ stores, furthering the exploitation.
Then they created the Colon, which was later replaced by the US dollar. Today Bitcoin arrives. Approximately 500 years have passed since cacao was used, and the working class continues to generate the wealth that a few bosses keep. In communism there will be no currency. It will be a classless society. We will not work for money, but to meet the needs of humanity.
ICWP teaches that things will change if we organize and struggle for a society without money.
The best examples of how the working class is exploited are lived by the men and women working-class comrades. They have understood the value of human labor power. One told of the 9 or 10 hours a day that he has to work to earn the minimum wage ($270). He works overtime to earn a little more, sometimes only one dollar more.
“We need to contact more workers, so that they join the struggle of ICWP. We will take 150 Red Flag newspapers to distribute and recruit contacts,” said a comrade who participates in the workers’ collectives. A plan was made to visit another factory.
“This encourages the collective to continue trying to make our political base active, to invite more family groups to this type of political gathering,” said a worker leader. This comment was made after eating chicken with rice prepared by workers’ hands, in front of a swimming pool where children of our class were happily bathing, in whom the values of the International Communist Workers’ Party are being instilled.
How Can Communism Work Without Money?
A good friend asked this question after reading a recent Red Flag article about Bitcoin and the society without money that is essential to a communist world. They wrote:
I don’t believe a cashless society would work out at all and the transition would be a nightmare. Without cash how would we purchase anything?
I replied: You are not alone in asking about this. It can be hard to imagine a world without money.
People would be motivated not by the prospect of individual gain, but by the possibility of living in a true communist society. Relationships would be totally different. Cooperation, collectivity and sharing will be primary. These relations will then inform all other decisions.
Capitalism celebrates “rugged individualism.” In communism, collectives will organize all aspects of life and struggle to overcome any obstacles. There won’t be bosses or the threat of being fired, being homeless or going hungry.
I imagine that by now you may be scoffing at the possibility of anything like this ever happening. But let me give you some historical examples:
During the civil war in Russia, the Bolsheviks organized society on an emergency basis under what they called “war communism.” They requisitioned food, jump-started production and bypassed currency. However, they eliminated money only as an emergency measure. They didn’t believe that the masses were ready for this long term. This huge mistake was key in the Soviet Union becoming a (state) capitalist society.
During the Chinese revolution, millions in the Red Army lived under the communist “supply system” as they fought for power. Officers and regular soldiers received equal treatment and shared the same hardships. A captured Catholic missionary wrote, “I was treated like everybody else: $3 a month with food and clothing. All commanders and soldiers dress alike, eat the same food and have the same living conditions. The women from the Sanitary Corps, who scrubbed the floors of the hospital, received the same as I did.” He was not happy about this.
But the soldiers were! Former soldiers returning to villages throughout China helped start the mass mobilization for communism that became the People’s Commune movement in the late 1950s.
Masses of peasants mobilized to build irrigation systems. Communes organized cafeterias where all members could eat and did not pay for food. Many aspects of communist relations were implemented in large areas all over China.
During the civil war in El Salvador in the 1980’s, the soldiers fighting the fascist government did not carry money. The organized masses sustained the armed struggle. They didn’t use money for many years. Groups of supporters produced what was needed to survive.
These are some examples of how the masses have figured out a world without money. Organized as communists, we will have an even clearer picture of how to make this work, as we will be motivated to struggle and to produce to meet the needs of our global family.
Perhaps other comrades and friends would like to continue this conversation.
Comrade in Seattle