Building a Mass Communist Party
SOUTH AFRICA, May 14 ā Several dozen comrades and friends of the International Communist Workersā Party (ICWP) intensified our organizing efforts for May Day. Before, during and after May Day we distributed about 1400 copies of Red Flag (RF) and thousands of flyers asking the working class to join ICWP.
This May Day gave us a unique opportunity to bring the message of joining ICWP to the masses. The ruling class of South Africa had organized May Day to mislead the masses. Some of our comrades went to this mobilization. They distributed over 400 RFs and made many contacts.
We were not able to coordinate better between our participation in the bossesā event and our own event. However, we mobilized around one hundred people for the day. At the end of the day we also got the news that our new Marikana comrades had distributed RF and talked about ICWP in the mining area.
Red Flag: Workersā Weapon
At the forefront of our organizing was collective reading, writing and distribution of RF. āRed Flag is the most powerful weapon in the hands of the working class and we must use it,ā said a comrade.
In capitalist society we are taught to do our own things for survival and entertainment. This culture makes it very difficult for many to read and write. With struggle, we are making it a routine habit of reading and writing as a collective process.
This collective reading and writing for RF has fundamentally changed how comrades see the paper. What was once a demanding thing to do has become an activity where everybody participates. Simple questions about a Red Flag article provoke deep discussions about communism.
In our meetings each comrade gives a summary of an article or a letter followed by lively discussion. Comrades who are shy and reluctant to talk show keen interest and participate. It changes everybody. We are all gaining more confidence in ICWP.
Collective reading directly changes how we write and what we write. Everyone is inspired to write, and we make this a collective effort. Sixteen comrades were involved in writing our recent articles for Red Flag. One industrial comrade was so inspired that he spent many hours writing a letter about his experience of organizing the miners in Marikana.
Our collective reading improves what we write for Red Flag. This directly changes how we distribute Red Flag. The distribution is no longer just passing a paper. Now it is deep engagement with the masses. We make contacts, follow them up regularly, ever expanding our base.
Collective Struggle Makes Us Better Organizers
A week after May Day, over 20 comrades met all day to discuss how we can be better organizers. Our day started with struggle with a key comrade who did not show up for May Day and had been away for few days. He explained that his father had a medical emergency and the family was facing a financial crisis.
A young comrade said that being communist means we are here for each other, especially in times of crisis. We donāt have the state power yet to change the healthcare, but all our personal problems are related to capitalism and we must trust each other so we can replace capitalism with communism. We must remain in a collective all the time. The comrade accepted criticism with humility and resolve to be better. This honest discussion guided us to look at our key weakness as a collective.
We identified that many times when we make contacts and agree on plans, we donāt follow up with the consistency required to make a breakthrough. This is a form of liberalism we must struggle against. We are determined to overcome this weakness.
May Day organizing has seen many comrades developing as mass leaders with confidence and dedication. We are committed to carrying out plans to intensify our work in three cities among miners, auto and other industrial workers, soldiers and students.
Preparing Now for Revolutionary Situations
The international working class celebrated May Day amidst a deepening capitalist crisis and a growing threat of imperialist war. Increasingly, workers canāt live in the old way. Capitalists canāt rule in the old way. Revolutionary situations are developing ā perhaps sooner than we think.
This paper, Red Flag, tries to show how communism can enable workers to end capitalismās attacks on our class. Communist revolution will empower us to abolish private property, profit and the wage system. Instead weāll collectively organize and carry out production and distribution directly to meet the massesā needs.
On this communist basis weāll be able to tear down the walls and erase the borders that divide us. We will learn to see ourselves and each other as comrades āwhatever our age or gender, birthplace or language, color or abilities. Together weāll create collective, fulfilling and sustainable ways of living. Weāll fully realize our creative and social human potential.
This is not a dream. Itās a plan.
Every day, the need for a mass communist party grows more urgent. Everywhere there are possibilities for building ICWP and expanding its communist base.
This report from the South Africa comrades is an excellent start to a broader discussion of how to prepare for, recognize and take advantage of revolutionary situations.
