Mass Interest in ICWP grows here ♦ Building Communist Relations in Struggle here ♦
Mass Interest in ICWP Surges: Urgency and Persistence: Keys to Party Growth
UNITED STATES, December 3— “A decade ago, I worked hard with Filipino anti-imperialists to promote the efficacy of organizing the international working class,” said P, a comrade educator. He was not successful.
It was different at the No-To-APEC events in San Francisco and Seattle. Over fifty activists, many of them Filipino/a, gave party members their contact information. The teacher was impressed.
The worldwide outrage at the imperialist genocide in the Middle East calls us to redouble our efforts to recruit many more party members. Over the last months comrades have connected with many activists at workers’ strikes and demonstrations against APEC and genocide. South African comrades’ toyi-toyi protests have attracted dozens more.
ICWP comrades are in the streets participating in these demonstrations. We bring communist solutions and distribute thousands of pieces of communist literature. We attract more potential recruits, some of whom have invited us to their demonstrations and meetings.
Comrades and friends have the chance to advance ICWP’s strategy of fighting directly for communism “on the streets.” Struggles with these potential comrades help us develop and enrich our line.
ICWP workshops and collective meetings also help us get to know new friends. A comrade in El Salvador who joined the party’s San Francisco No-to-APEC workshop was inspired by so many young people debating what strategies we should embrace. The workshop facilitator understood that many of the participants wanted communism but thought that militant reform would create communists. Some of us used to think that, but we’ve learned why it didn’t.
A young Filipina maintained that Filipino people were so oppressed that we must focus on immediate reforms. After the workshop, she enthusiastically gave us her contact information to continue to discuss the need to immediately raise communist solutions. This shows how the party can work even with those who have disagreements.
The workshop struggles represent communist advancement over recent months. There is a greater potential for party growth. But it can only be realized by focusing on following up with people we met.
Not everyone we meet rushes to join the ICWP, but some respond eagerly. One friend remembered our discussion in Seattle about building collectives. In San Francisco, he asked for the comrade who had led that workshop, wanting to continue the discussion. The Seattle facilitator could not attend the San Francisco workshop, but immediately began texting this friend. Friends like him can bring many others to our party.
“Just Peace” and Other Cruel Capitalist Jokes
The context for our work includes many ideological obstacles. A decade ago, educator P thought nationalist ideology was a big obstacle. It still is.
Many people interested in the party bring with them reformist strategies, particularly nationalism. Building rock-solid personal and political ties will allow us to struggle over these competing strategies.
The difference between resisting capitalist war and mobilizing for communist revolution is now a hot topic among people we know.
The San Francisco No-to-APEC leadership advertised the Resist US-Led War Coalition: Resist Imperialist War! Build a Just Peace! Long Live International Solidarity!
By not attacking capitalism, they made this a cruel joke. Capitalism assures imperialist war, never a just peace. And international solidarity without a working-class basis ends up building alliances for more imperialist exploitation and global war.
Coalition leaders have been building this movement for years. It stands in contradiction to the revolutionary strategy that the masses need everywhere.
We Need Communist Strategy
ICWP’s strategy is to fight directly for global communism. This requires building one international communist party for one global working class. Not a collection of capitalist nation-states.
To build this party requires urgency and persistence. Following up on many more contacts must be a priority—in the short run and over time. It complements our strategy of building communist concentrations in the factories, barracks, and schools. These campaigns must include inviting more new friends to our conferences, forums, local party meetings, and social events.
Our struggle in coming months will expand the party’s reach among young activists. It will help prepare us to build the collectives we need among industrial workers and to turn the guns around in the imperialist armed forces.
We aren’t satisfied with resisting capitalism. We’ll end genocidal capitalism once and for all with communist revolution.
Building Communist Relations in Struggle
We had a very useful two-hour discussion over coffee with a person comrades met at the Seattle No-to-APEC Summit and her friend. Both are active in a group of young Filipinas. She had asked to get in touch with ICWP members here, and we followed up.
We gave them Red Flag and discussed our communist ideas as well as theirs. The history of US soldiers refusing to fight the Huk guerrillas in the Philippines after World War II struck a chord.
They invited us to a planning meeting for the San Francisco No-to-APEC activity. There we talked about ICWP and offered Red Flag to participants. Some (but not all) at the meeting applauded when we showed the front page about mobilizing against the G20 meeting in Delhi. A comrade said the answer to coming war is communist revolution. Three more people gave us their contact information.
Another comrade suggested the group go to the Kaiser picket lines. Then a member of the group shared that Kaiser had donated $1 million to APEC while refusing to hire more workers. We met up with some of these young women at the picket line, where we exchanged literature. As they distributed their flyer to the workers, we distributed Red Flag.
This helped us get to know and work with young people interested in communism, but who have different ideas about how to achieve it.
We participated in committees leading up to the San Francisco event. Some activists helped us make sure our comrades were registered for the Summit. We didn’t convince them to attend the party’s workshop. But we talked with lots of people and plan to get together with some of them soon.
We should expect disagreements among these new friends. We need urgency and persistence to win them to ICWP. We have seen some of them at marches against the genocide in Gaza. They are always friendly, and gladly take Red Flag.
We met more people at the Kaiser and Starbucks strikes, at many demonstrations against the genocide in Gaza, and among students protesting tuition hikes. We are meeting with some of them and planning how to participate in these struggles.
Comrades are getting bolder in getting contact information. They are taking a long-term view and keeping up with as many of these contacts as possible, even when the contacts are hesitant about being involved. Comrades say, “Fine, but let’s keep talking.”
A friend who is a retired MTA worker came with us to San Francisco. He liked the experience and is meeting with our collective. We will invite other friends to do the same. We are planning a zoom meeting about Gaza, imperialism, and communism.
Other comrades in LA have contacted people from southern California who were in the ICWP workshop in San Francisco.
In this new period, with surging mass hatred for imperialism, we are confident that many of these contacts will become new friends who will help build ICWP collectives.
—Comrades in Southern California
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“Mobilize the Masses for Communism,”