Letters, Vol 9, No 17

LETTERS, CRITICISM AND SUGGESTIONS

Letters From Participants in the ICWP International Conference

 A Unique and Satisfying Experience

The International Conference of the Party seemed to us to be tremendously important. We realized that comrades from other countries live in situations similar to ours in El Salvador, in whatever job. I participated, as a member of one of the three Party clubs inside the maquilas, along with my two daughters.

Racism affects all working people. The comrades from South Africa could not be present in Central America because of the conditions of capitalism that prevented their coming to the conference.

But that was not an obstacle for them to be present at the conference because through technology they were listening and debating the problems experienced in different countries.

The stay seemed to us a unique and satisfying experience of sharing with comrades from different countries. The hospitality we enjoyed was very pleasant. The food was delicious.

The trip was very nice for us and a new experience to share with comrades from different countries to enjoy our beautiful scenery and the delicious pupusas.

—Comrade from El Salvador

Learning from Each Other Strengthens our Commitment

ICWP’s international conference brought together comrades from around the world to discuss our work and advances in mobilizing for revolution. I met and broke bread with our comrades from El Salvador, Mexico, Spain and other parts of North America, catching up, meeting new comrades, and taking in how our party is growing and expanding around the world.

During the conference our comrades gave reports discussing their work in both their personal and professional lives. In the maquilas where some of our comrades work in El Salvador, our comrades discussed being open about their politics as they fight to mobilize their fellow workers for communism. They talked about the need to be disciplined, arriving to work early and completing tasks on time to avoid being fired. It was clear that there is uneven development in this, like everything else.

Although our South African comrades couldn’t make it to the international conference, thanks to modern technology we were able to video-conference with them over the two-day meeting. Our comrades discussed their successes in expanding the party in South Africa, but also the difficulties they had recruiting women in the party. I’m not sure we really got to the heart of what is holding our comrades back from making this breakthrough.

We discussed religion, race, class, gender and how we believe a communist world will be after revolution. I learned a lot as I built better communist social relationships with my comrades both young and old.

Our meetings were filled with insights on our work in the party, but the discussions did not stop there. Whether at lunch or in our rooms late at night our discussions on world issues and social relations continued.

There has been this notion that the United States of America is the land of opportunity and freedom and as my roommates asked me how it was, I explained that there is struggle in the US over wage slavery and racism. I also discussed my pessimistic ideas about my coworkers back home whose machista attitudes and nationalistic views about Central Americans infuriate me.

“Well, first you need to decide if these people are the kind of people you want to associate with,” my comrade said. “If so, then decide if they can come to understand these things and talk to them about capitalism and communism.” I admittedly needed advice on how to better approach the situation on my job.

I was more than amazed to find in Central America the abundance of natural beauty and the resilience of the people. Sometimes, it looked just like we were in any other city, but in the rural areas you could see the remnants of US intervention as people worked to survive like we all do under this capitalist system.

My experience was amazing. My attendance at our international meeting strengthens my conviction to work and fight for a communist world. Although there is uneven development, we have each other to learn from and sharpen our work. The harder capitalism pushes, the more people are drawn to our beliefs. Capitalism can’t stop the growth in our party. Communism will win!

—Comrade from the US

Overcoming Obstacles as a Collective

Let me first condemn the behaviour of the airline that kept us from going to the conference. But this is something that should not surprise us. Racism is a fundamental pillar of capitalism.

The behaviour should not deter us in our quest of eradicating Capitalism. But it should strengthen our resolve to smash the borders and racism. The destruction of Capitalism will ultimately lead to a Communist society whereby there’s no racism, borders, or sexism. To get into the conference I remember my comrade remarking that even though he was not there physically, he felt that he was part of the conference.

We started by giving reports. One of the comrades gave the international report about the events around the world. She started with the migration crisis. More workers are coming from Central America trying to reach the U.S. Also there is the European migration crisis as more workers from North Africa and the Middle East are fleeing from horrors of war that are perpetuated by Capitalist greed for profit and the rivalry within the imperialist powers.

Another point that was interesting was how we struggle with each other and also how we were critical with ourselves. The other thing was the comradely manner in which we were critical with each other without alienating each other.

One typical example was when a comrade gave his report, the criticism was he gave a similar report about 4 years ago. So we needed to investigate why for this long period of time we haven’t recruited any comrades there. It was clear to the whole international collective that this was not an individual failure but of the whole international collective. So we need to make specific plans to address this problem collectively.

The second day of the conference we specifically talked about the development of the Red Flag and the need to create a network of Red Flag readers with the hope of recruiting these readers to become the members of the organization. We also put more emphasis on the development of communist relations. We mustn’t only talk about communism, but we must show the important part, that it is not just for us to convince people to join us. Instead, people themselves must want to join us.

One of our strengths as a collective here in South Africa is the unity within the collective. We sometimes use this unity as one of our recruiting tools. As people see our bond as communists they also want to be part of it.

—A Comrade in South Africa

Let’s Think and Talk About How and What We Eat

“Sol, why are you vegan?” comrade Sebastián asked a college student at the party’s end-of-year meeting. As we headed to a beautiful wooded area, this question sparked an interesting discussion about veganism, agriculture, and communism.

“I started out being a vegetarian to support a friend, but then I read about the meat industry, about animal exploitation and abuse, and that convinced me to be a vegan,” answered Sol. (Vegan: someone who doesn’t consume or use any animal products, doesn’t eat meat or dairy).

“So, do you think that under Communism we would have to be vegan?” the comrade asked.

“I think that yes, under Communism there should not be any kind of exploitation or oppression. Animals will not exist for our benefit,” said a young comrade.

“Many species of animals exist because humans have domesticated them or because we encourage their reproduction,” Sebastián replied.

“But you have to keep in mind that the meat industry is one of the most polluting on the planet,” Sol added. To produce one kilo of veal, the equivalent of 27 kilos of carbon dioxide are emitted (a measure that combines the impact of different greenhouse gases), 15,400 liters of water are needed, and 100 kilos of this protein require 6,000 square meters of land.

Luna, another young university student who participated in the meeting, commented, “I believe that under communism we are going to have a different diet. We have to change the perception that only eating meat is eating. But I don’t believe that everyone should be vegan. Eating meat helped to develop our brain, our cognitive capacity.”

“If we could not use other animals for our needs, we would have to go back to being harvesters and give up animal husbandry. I don’t think this is a solution. The problem is not whether we eat meat or not, or whether we eat more vegetables or not. It is the capitalist mode of production. Currently more than 80% of food production is wasted. What we produce today is enough to feed the population of 2050. But your criticism of the meat industry is accurate; beef and chicken meat is the most harmful to humans, especially because of the hormones they inject into animals,” Sebastián added.

“We are used to seeing food as something behind the counter, as a commodity, but it is clear that we can produce enough to satisfy the all humanity’s food needs,” added Jasmine, a Party comrade.

This letter is an incentive to initiate a communist discussion about issues such as veganism, agriculture and diet. We invite everyone to participate with letters and articles to continue the discussion.

—Comrade in Mexico

Albanian Student Mass Protest

January 7 – Albanian students have resumed their mass protests against tuition hikes, the Education Law, living conditions in the dormitories and other grievances. The new law on higher education puts universities under direct government control while diverting public funds to private universities.

Street rallies grew even after the government nullified the fee increases. Miners and other workers have joined them. This shows that, while the appearance of the protest is strictly reformist, its essence is deep discontent with the capitalist education system. Neither the socialism of Enver Hoxha nor the market capitalism that followed it could possibly meet the aspirations of the masses. Only communism can do that.

“The Wife”: a Review of a Capitalist Movie 

“The Wife,” loudly praised by the critics, is seemingly anti-sexist, while in reality it promotes sexism. It also minimizes the work of the working class, portraying the most necessary work (in this case unpaid housework) as mindless. The more we buy into the bosses’ lying propaganda against us workers, the weaker we are as a force able to fight against their current attacks and to eventually destroy their murderous system, capitalism, replacing it with real communism.

“The Wife” is a good weapon against us. The “wife” (Joan) is the “victim” of the sexist agreement she made with her husband (Joe) decades ago. Joan, the one with talent and skill, would write the novels and Joe would pretend he wrote them. The movie makes it clear that this was because in a sexist society, acknowledging and rewarding accomplishments in anything, including the arts, happens much more readily to men.

Almost all of Joan’s time and energy is devoted to her writing; therefore, she cannot be a very nurturing mother. At movie’s end, Joan describes the suffering this and the lack of societal acknowledgment of her accomplishments have caused her.

Beginning in his very early years, their son (David) was miserable because Joe, instead of Joan, was his primary caretaker. The film offers no evidence that Joe was an uncaring dad, and so David’s “deprivation” comes off as unfounded and illogical. The film relies on the capitalists’’ lying “logic” that only women can be satisfactory caregivers. The reality is that fathers can be just as nurturing as mothers.

For much of the film, Joan plays her chosen role with such apparent happiness that when she finally reveals to Joe how she’s always felt, it’s unbelievable. Not to movie critics though. They describe it as “Joan’s transformation from self-deprecating wife to fiery force of nature” (rogerebert.com). However, Joan wasn’t exactly portrayed as a “self-deprecating” wife.

We’re supposed to be outraged by Joe’s “callous” acceptance of being lionized for his wife’s accomplishments. In Joan’s final speech to Joe about why she’s so angry, Joe responds by listing his decades-long accomplishments: parenting, cooking and maintaining a healthy, pleasant home environment. Joan replies to this list with scorn.

The truth is that in class society, “homemaking” is socially necessary work which requires creativity and fortitude—and is never recognized.

Under capitalism, work is divided into categories, with “artistic” and “intellectual” work valued (and rewarded) above more “practical” (and necessary) work. These divisive categories serve the bosses extremely well. But humans are capable of performing well in all sorts of categories and, in communism, we will! To quote the poet Langston Hughes regarding capitalism: “But it won’t last forever.”

—A Comrade

Workers Can Change

I’ve seen the tears of joy of many Mexicans and residents and friends in California willing to return to a Mexico torn apart by vicious capitalism, in the first hours of the presidency of López Obrador, at work, in the market and in my own home. “Let’s go back to Mexico,” people say.

Today, Mexicans, full of hope, trust in a political and economic change. I have been in retirement from the International Communist Workers’ Party. My story as a parent and member has been very painful. I have doubted the solidarity of the comrades. But when I hear the voices of hope and solidarity in a political and economic change of many workers from Mexico and immigrants from North America it gives me confidence that international workers can change their way of thinking, organize radical changes and bury capitalism.

—A Friend

Red Flag responds: We agree that radical changes are needed, that is, to fight for communism and nothing less. And we have to struggle against the illusion that the capitalist Lopez Obrador and the Mexican capitalist class are going to bring about radical changes.

Oakland: Organizing for Communism as Pre-Strike Work

The organizers were expecting some 30 people, but around 60 came to a local meeting building support for the likely teachers’ strike in Oakland later this month and the rally to Defend Public Education in Oakland on Saturday, January 12th.

There was a lot of sharp accurate criticism of capitalists and their charter schools, the treacherous role of the CTA, as well as support for the LA teachers and concern for Oakland students.

Only here and there did that concern for the students talk about the hierarchical, capitalist content of public (or charter) school education.

One of the panelists, talking about the 23-day strike of 1996, stressed an important lesson to learn from that struggle: never underestimate the enemy. With schools commanding the interest of billionaires like Eli Broad and Bill Gates, the enemy, he pointed out, was a significant section of the capitalist ruling class – currently one of the most powerful forces in the world.

Red Flag would take it further. The main weakness of the strike was that teachers and their supporters did not fight hard enough to build the revolutionary communist movement many of the activists were privately dreaming of. This has left us facing a more unequal, vicious capitalist system than we saw in 1996.

On the one hand, the Bay Area is the home of 73 billionaires (the third largest concentration of private wealth in the world); on the other, tent cities are springing up throughout Oakland faster than mushrooms after the rain.

Anxious not to repeat that error, a Red Flag distributor urged everyone to launch conversations about, and organizing for, communist revolution as the key part of our pre-strike work.

The immediate counter from the panel was that communist revolution was great but organizing around the issues of the strike was what was needed today. However, this did not keep some of the younger teachers from checking out Red Flag at the end of the meeting.

—Comrade in Oakland

On the Picket Line with Kaiser Mental Health Workers

“I started working here in 1988. The kinds of problems our patients had were things like being depressed because a relative died, because of a divorce, or losing a job. Now we see a growing number of people facing problems of addiction, abuse, violence…There is more stress in society and so there are more mental health problems,” explained one of the strikers.

Another striker added, “We aren’t mainly striking for money. Yes, we want the new-hires to be able to get pensions. But it’s mainly about patient care. Now they only let us see a patient for therapy sometimes once every two months. You can’t really give them the therapy they need like that!”

These comments were made on the picket line of a strike of Kaiser health care workers when comrades brought Red Flag and the pamphlet about the communist fight against sexism.

A comrade said, “Capitalism is in crisis and is creating more and more stress. We’re fighting for a communist society where we will collectively plan and produce everything to meet our needs food, shelter and health care. The best health care for all will be a priority. There will be less of the kind of stress there is now. Even when things are hard, we will face them collectively, not individually.”

“That sounds really interesting. Let me read the paper and see what I think.”

With other strikers we talked about how communism was actually practiced in pre-class society. “Native Americans and people all over the world lived without exploitation, money, borders or nations in the past. We can live like that again—on a higher level using science, technology, and ideas that have been developed since then.”

“Yes!” said another striker. “We have a lot to learn from the way they shared everything. Men and women were equal. Everyone was respected. I’ll read this paper and the pamphlet you gave me about fighting sexism. Then I’ll see if I want to contact you. Thank you!”

About 100 strikers gladly took Red Flag out of about 250 there. Many wanted to talk. As workers fight increasing capitalist attacks, there are big opportunities everywhere.

—Comrades in LA

Teachers—and all Workers— Need Communist Political Strikes

What is the difference between a political strike for reforms (PSR) and a political strike for communism (PSC)?

A PSR seeks or tries to achieve changes that temporarily improve the situation of workers and those affected. In the Los Angeles teachers’ strike demands, for example we have the salary increase for teachers, maintenance of health insurance for them as well as improvements in schools such as reduction in the number of students in the classrooms, and more nurses, librarians and psychologists working full-time in every school.

However, these strikes fail to question the capitalist system and do not seek to overthrow it. In and of themselves they help create the illusion that this system based on the exploitation of the working class can be reformed for the benefit of the workers, parents, teachers and students. These strikes conceal the nature of the capitalist system which is based on the need to create profits in order to sustain itself.

On the contrary, a PSC seeks and tries to mobilize the working masses (industrial workers, soldiers, students, teachers and others) to not only see and examine the capitalist system but also to understand the need for communism. Such a strike demonstrates the communist social relations necessary for the full development of every human being. By demonstrating these relationships, it also popularizes them as much as possible. The relationships include the association of the masses in collective work in all spheres of human behavior. Here all efforts will be collective and will be carried out with the goal of the abolition of money, borders, sexism, racism and homophobia.

A PSR ties us to the system of exploitation and profits because it ignores how the schools themselves are instruments of the capitalists’ domination; they reproduce capitalist ideology and practice; in other words they reproduce capitalist social relations.

On the other hand, a PSC puts us on the path to our liberation. It shows us a present and a future that illuminates a world without hierarchies or privilege. In this world communist principles such as “to each according to their need, from each according to their commitment” among others will be the guide for the new human behavior.

—Teacher comrade

Read Our Pamphlet:

Communist Education for a Classless Society

icwpredflag.org/epe.pdf

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