Contradictions: Studying Dialectical Materialism here ♦ Have Confidence in Communism here ♦ Revolutionary Greetings here; Being a Mother Has Taught Me Why We Need Communism here ♦
Contradictions: Studying Dialectical Materialism
LOS ANGELES (USA), July 27— A worker comrade told a dialectics discussion group that one of her internal contradictions was fear of the regime of exception in El Salvador that she lives under. But she conquers her fear by collectively struggling and organizing smaller party groups.
That contradiction is between her fear of repression versus her commitment to build ICWP to get rid of hated capitalism. She strengthens the communist side by participating in Party meetings, giving workers Red Flag, and talking about it with them.
ICWP is organizing four sessions to study Dialectical Materialism via Zoom. The goal is that younger comrades study, understand, and lead in these discussions to strengthen the party’s work.
About twenty people met for the first session. The comrades who led it read several articles, available here
A brief visual presentation explained that the most important concept in dialectics is contradiction. It is the unity and struggle of opposites. Contradictions exist in everything: inside each person, in families, workplaces, in the life of a plant, the decaying of an old car, in capitalism.
People gave good examples. “Inside capitalism, the workers and the capitalists need and influence each other, but they are in sharp conflict. This conflict produces protests, strikes, rebellions and revolutions. The victory of communism will end the contradiction between workers and bosses.”
All processes have contradictions. The contradiction that is internal to a process is what drives that process. It determines the direction the process will go and its character.
For example, a comrade showed that if she smashed an egg with her hand, the egg would break. But if she uses the same external force on a rock, it won’t break. The internal composition of the egg and the rock are different, so the same external force leads to two different outcomes.
Fascist repression will not stop the working class whose communist party is organized in collectives in the factories, schools, and barracks to fight for communism. By organizing the party this way, comrades are fighting to make sure the party is like a rock, not like an egg.
“When we are in communism, there won’t be contradictions?” a comrade asked. We concluded that when we sharpen and resolve a contradiction, it gives rise to new contradictions that we will then have to resolve.
After the working class destroys capitalism, part of its ideology and practices, like racism, sexism, and individualism, will still exist together with, and in opposition to, the communist ideology and practices we will be building. The party needs to guide the masses to resolve this contradiction by defeating these vestiges of capitalism once and for all.
Another comrade described his experience in a factory in Los Angeles. It showed that the workers can collectively overcome internal contradictions like fear versus the need to struggle.
He thought that workers would be too afraid to stop production. But five workers stopped working in one section when the boss lowered the piece rate there. The comrade gave a piece of paper to a co-worker, saying she should stop working to support them. He didn’t think anything would happen. But when he turned around, the whole factory had stopped working. He stood up and told the workers, “The factory is ours!”
This happened, he said, because the party had been distributing communist papers outside. We must overcome fear by having confidence in the workers. This was a reform struggle, but we can have confidence that workers will fight for communism.
Time ran out. We are planning more time for the next session so more comrades can give examples of contradictions in their everyday lives, nature, and in political work.
Contradictions are everywhere. We can learn to identify them and struggle to resolve the main ones, strengthening the communist side. This was a good start. After these four sessions, we will have smaller discussion groups about dialectical materialism.
See you at the next meeting! Ask a party organizer for the Zoom link.
See ICWP Dialectical Materialism page, available here
Have Confidence in Communism and the Working Class
I was recently invited to an ICWP communist political social event (picnic). I’m grateful to have gone and shared with people from different parts of the world.
In Colombia, I was part of the Colombian army, and my ideas were from the right. Recently, I met my friend H and began to talk with him about our position in society.
He made me realize how wrong I was, in a calm and steady way. I was listening and following his reasoning and realized that I had lived on the wrong side.
Not wanting to go to the park alone, I invited M, a friend from my town. But I didn’t know his political ideas. At first, when I changed and began to see ideas in a different way, I didn’t know how I could tell him what I had experienced or discovered. I wasn’t sure how he would react.
However, I decided to start probing his thoughts. I began to give him a general explanation of the working-class struggle.
To my surprise, he told me that his grandfather had been a revolutionary. In the same way, his father has fought all his life for the working class. He said that he also liked revolutionary ideas.
He liked the activity a lot. Now he, too, is willing to learn more about the ideas and to participate in the party.
As my friend H said, “It’s a practical lesson, talking to people. You find those workers who are so close to us, and sometimes we distance ourselves from them. You must have confidence in communist ideas and in the working class.”
I changed my position. Now that I have participated in this get-together with the party comrades, I am willing to learn more about communist ideas and see what the future holds for us.
—Colombian comrade in Los Angeles (USA)
Revolutionary Greetings from a Salvadoran Comrade
I had the opportunity, and a pleasant experience, of sharing a revolutionary picnic with comrades in Los Angeles. I was very impressed by the supportive environment and the racial diversity of those present, all united by the same fight.
Hugs and greetings from comrades made me feel like family. Then reports from different areas of party work began, which I really liked. These included Seattle, India, teachers from Los Angeles, and other very important topics. Then those present gave political opinions.
Some young Colombians were interested in learning more about the communist ideas of the party. I thought it was very good to win over more young people and make the political line of the ICWP party known.
There was a talk about a worker in a factory that I really liked. It dealt with communist ideas in practice. He was given as an example of the solidarity he shows by helping his family and friends.
It was a very inspiring day for me. I am enthusiastic to continue organizing and helping with party activities.
—Comrade in El Salvador
“Being a Mother Has Taught Me Why We Need Communism”
I joined the ICWP when I was in high school and was active with the Party, going to rallies, marches, and events.
I graduated and soon joined the work force and became a mother. I stopped being active, but I am back now and stronger than ever. Now I have more reason to fight for the workers. Being a mother has taught me why we need communism. Having no safety net is extremely difficult.
As I worked for a big corporate office, I didn’t have any paid maternity leave and was with no pay for forty days. Having a child is extremely expensive. Honestly, I couldn’t have done it without my working-class family and friends.
Knowing this firsthand has made me extremely upset as I know many mothers haven’t had the best support, especially from their government. A government with no exception took their share of my paycheck and told us that this is to help the community. I didn’t see it when I became a mother.
Having gone through some hardships with my family has taught me time and time again that communism is the only answer to having the safety nets and success in parenthood.
Knowing our children will be taken care of long after we are gone is a peace that cannot be bought with money. But it can come with change. Knowing that there is a world that will have no barriers, no borders or poverty for our children, is the goal we should be striving for.
—Comrade in Los Angeles (USA)