Party Line Needs to Evolve to Respond to Fascism here ♦ Lessons from Party History at Boeing here ♦
SEATTLE (US), January 20—Five thousand demonstrated and rallied at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. event. It wasn’t long before comrades ran out of the hundreds of Red Flags they brought to the rally. It was the only communist paper at the event.
A comrade noted that this multi-racial, multi-national crowd wanted to discuss politics “from a more leftwing perspective than in previous years.” Another comrade noted that these changes were similar to the recent changes in the Boeing workforce.
We expected the younger workers and students to welcome ICWP communist literature. But this time older workers also invited comrades to future events and political discussions. Many from the contingent of longshore workers were particularly interested in communism, the fight against racism, and the attacks on immigrants.
We were not adequately prepared for the response of many demonstrators. Next time we will bring more papers, more comrades, have a table set up and a banner. And take pictures.
Reaching out to these demonstrators is an important part of our work, building ICWP.
Party Line Needs to Evolve to Respond to Fascism
I am responding to Red Flag letter “What is the party line?” The writer states, “our gut reaction cannot be to hold the line at all costs.” I agree that we can’t just put on blinders and forge ahead at all costs. There is, of course, a certain bottom line (fighting racism, sexism, etc., and the building of an international communist party, ICWP). But the line needs to evolve in response to events in the world and the actions of the masses.
Also, in terms of the paper, I would like to see it tackling some of the Trump decisions and what we can do about them. How do we address them? We need to have our act together. People are pissed off, but we can’t just stay pissed off – we need to be out there more and more doing something. Fascism is on the rise, both in the US and around the world. This is very complex, and we need to be flexible in how we respond.
The executive order to round up and send back (to where?) millions of immigrants is underway NOW. We need more action and more coverage of this relevant issue.
I would like to see and hear thoughts and ideas from others about what ICWP can do as we enter a very difficult four years.
—Friend in Seattle
Let’s Learn More from Party History at Boeing
It’s always good to read about our party’s work in Seattle among the new, younger, more diverse Boeing workforce. It’s great that the comrades are trying to take advantage of new opportunities for party growth.
But these articles raise a question. Though it’s never stated directly, the constant emphasis on these new opportunities seems to suggest that opportunities for party growth did not exist at Boeing before the pandemic, when the workforce was older and less diverse. Those of us who have read Red Flag for a long time know that isn’t true.
We remember how comrades and friends distributed communist literature on the shop floor. How they mobilized many co-workers to confront anti-immigrant racists, also on the shop floor. We remember reports of well-attended multi-racial social events with sharp political discussions. Some of us even attended a few of those. The Boeing work has helped to lead the whole party.
Newer readers wouldn’t know all that. In the US and around the world, the capitalist rulers have long spread a lot of negativity about US industrial workers, especially white workers, supposedly being “reactionary.” Decades of experience at Boeing proved that a lie. It’s still important.
Our line has been, and still is, to “mobilize masses for communism.” To build a mass party, not just a small party with a mass base.
Despite the good and consistent work at Boeing, we didn’t recruit many workers to the party. Why? Surely not just because the workforce was not yet “young and diverse.” Was it a problem with our line? With our practice? What can we all learn from whatever mistakes might have been made? And what are we doing differently now?
Comrades, your answers to these questions could help advance the work of the whole party.
—Older comrade
Read the ICWP Manifesto: “Mobilize the Masses for Communism” here.