Improving Study of Dialectical Materialism here ♦ Olympic Games here ♦ Exposing European Left Party here ♦
Improving Our Study of Communist Philosophy
I have gone through both ICWP videos about dialectical materialism. First of all, let me congratulate your party for this extraordinary initiative. Absence of Cadre camps for new comrades is one of the main reasons for the world-wide defeats of Communist movements.
And as your party has started, it is a sign that your organisation is alive. They are nicely explained videos and nothing critical. But my observations are as follows:
There are four basic parts of Marxist philosophy:
- Dialectical Materialism. This is simply about general rules of nature. Your video has tried to cover it, but it is vague and incomplete. For example, there are many more topics besides the basic rule of contradiction and unity of elements. I think you should include those remaining items also. Secondly, while an attempt is made to simplify the subject matter, it is presented in disconnected pieces. It could have been done in a better way. If you want, I will give complete syllabus of dialectical Materialism. You and your comrades may sit together and try all the topics. If any help is needed, I will be more than happy.
- The second part is Historical Materialism. It is the application of the rules of Dialectical Materialism to society. One should try to cover all the topics in nice and lucid way. Without a detailed understanding, our comrades, specifically younger ones, will never understand how society changes and what are the classes and what is class struggle.
- The third part is Political Economy. This system under which we live is a society based on capitalism. How this system works and how exploitation takes place within this system, is a most important lesson for our new comrades. We must teach it.
- Last but not the least, the fourth part is Scientific Socialism. We all know that we want to destroy capitalist system and create a new society. But how? There are rules and other basic points which must be taught to the new comrades so that they can understand for what they are fighting.
If you want, I can give you a detailed syllabus for each of these parts. Kindly treat this as a friendly suggestion and not criticism. I do not see any major difference in our thinking.
With lots of love and great respect,
Red salute!
—Long-time friend in India
Red Flag responds: Thank you for your thoughtful review of the Dialectics video. We agree with much of your letter, and we would certainly like to see your detailed syllabus. We have study groups and Red Flag articles about dialectical materialism that are directed toward educating young comrades and friends. We encourage our comrades to make more videos.
Immigrant workers protest sweeps of Paris streets, July 2024
Olympic Games
JULY 26— As the Olympic Games opened in Paris, hundreds of unhoused people (many of them African and other refugees) protested the forcible removal of as many as 12,500 of their numbers. Groups of people, men, women and children, pounded garbage bins, pots, and pans. “We receive food and medicines for ourselves and our children from NGOs, here in Paris,” said a woman who was visibly trembling. “We have no idea where we might be taken, and whether we will have these things.”
These forced relocations have been going on for a year. They include 500 yesterday and 300 more today! They had been occupying streets, forming tent cities, and squatting in empty buildings. They were forced onto buses by militarized police & driven out of city.
An NGO organizer contrasted $1.4 billion that went into cleaning up the Seine River with the $10 million that the community organizations had requested to help their clients. The government denied even that – and Paris has a “socialist” mayor.
The Olympic nationalist orgy is a direct attack on vulnerable Parisians and a political attack on the whole working class. No amount of greenwashing can hide this further evidence that we need communism. With housing, food, and medicines for all. Where every worker will be welcomed everywhere.
Exposing the European Left Party: A Historical Betrayal of Progressive Ideals
In February 2019, the People’s Party of Palestine condemned the actions of the president of the Parliamentary Group of Die Linke. He is a prominent figure in the European Left Party (ELP). During a visit to Israel, he visited an Israeli settlement and planted trees, symbolically endorsing the ongoing occupation of Palestinian territory, and downplaying the severity of Israeli actions against Palestinians.
This incident highlights the duplicity of Die Linke and similar parties within the ELP. They presented themselves as progressive but in practice supported the interests of the bourgeoisie, the European Union, and imperialist strategies. This was not an isolated case. The ELP consistently backed imperialist interventions in Libya and Syria, aligning itself with US, NATO, and EU agendas.
In Greece, SYRIZA, another prominent ELP member, repeatedly showed its true colors. The SYRIZA government provided extensive support to US and NATO military operations, offering bases and territorial access. Despite its rhetoric, SYRIZA deepened its military and economic ties with Israel and failed to recognize the Palestinian state. It betrayed its supposed commitment to Palestinian rights.
The ELP’s actions demonstrate a clear pattern of opportunism and social democracy. It prioritizes imperialist objectives over genuine progressive values. This organization not only supported anti-communist campaigns but also joined forces with reactionary elements to rewrite history and undermine socialist achievements.
For authentic Communist Parties, it remains vital to expose and challenge these deceptive forces. The ELP, far from being a true representative of leftist ideals, has proven to be a sham, betraying the very principles it claimed to uphold.
—RB, a reader in India, July 2024
Red Flag responds: Thank you for your timely letter. We add that Melancon’s La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party, an ELP member, raised false hopes in the recent elections. We see, though, that the People’s Party of Palestine continues to hold wrong policies common among many twentieth-century communists. In 1991 it put the class struggle on hold to further the “national liberation” struggle. It still advocates socialism, not a direct fight for communism. And as recently as 2021, it pursued an electoral (rather than revolutionary) path. We invite you, and Palestinian Red Flag readers, to study ICWP’s communist political line and join us.