The material explains what the Party means by Modern Communism and why its study and discussion is so important. In particular the book Modern Communism: Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) by Hardial Bains should be studied. Communism was created as a system to solve problems facing humanity during the twentieth century. It accomplished great feats, was linked with every progressive development of the century, raised the consciousness of the peoples of the entire world and ushered in a new epoch, the epoch of imperialism and proletarian revolution. "When communism was brought in as a system to solve the problems facing humanity during the twentieth century, it signified the sharpest class struggle between the old and the new. This class struggle was of world-wide proportions between the forces of the old and the forces of the new. It took the form of the October Revolution; it took the form of the establishment of the USSR; it took the form of the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and the great anti-fascist war during World War Two. Communism established the people's democracies in the countries of Eastern Europe, led to the establishment of the Peoples' Republic of China and other independent, sovereign socialist countries and to the upsurge and victory of national liberation struggles and the formation of modern Africa and Asia amongst other things. Communism also raised the consciousness of the entire world's people, placing it on a modern footing." [Study and Discussion of Modern Communism to Oppose the Dogmatic Rendering of Life, TMLD 26 (123) June 24, 1996] The epoch of imperialism and proletarian revolution remains the same today but a modern communism needs to be put forward making it consistent with the historical shift that has occurred as a result of the struggles of the twentieth century. This modern communism could be said to represent enlightenment in all fields. Its essence is to take life itself as the starting point of study and discussion and act upon what that life reveals. Modern communism will once again render political struggle meaningful so that people can be effective in their struggles. Its aim will be to smash the dogmas and disinformation that block oppressed people and their supporters from taking up and participating in solving the problems they face. An article from TMLD explains: "The significance of the current phase of work in which CPC(M-L) has embarked, the Historic Initiative it has taken up, is to empower Canadians with the working class at the head, to turn things around in Canada and internationally. In order to accomplish this, CPC(M-L) must engage the broadest masses of the people, Canadians in their hundreds and thousands, in the study and discussion of modern communism so as to smash that which is blocking them from participating in changing their current conditions of life. Unless the all-sided activity of the bourgeoisie to maintain itself in power and maintain the status quo is boldly confronted by smashing the dogmatic rendering of life itself, the road to progress will elude us. In this way, the very essence of modern communism is to smash the dogmatic rendering of life itself by taking life as the starting point of study and discussion, and acting upon what it reveals. "The situation is extremely volatile and dangerous. The bourgeoisie cannot re-establish either its international order, the new world order, or change the situation within its own countries. Unless political life is rendered in all its profundity, it is not possible for the peoples to grasp what is taking place so as to arm themselves to intervene effectively and bring about real changes which favour them. Modern Communism is synonymous with the most advanced consciousness. "First and foremost, Modern Communism has solutions to offer in different important aspects of people's lives. It has its theory in the economic sphere, in the political sphere and in terms of outlook." [Study and Discussion of Modern Communism Gets Underway as Part of Historic Initiative to Turn Things in Canada Around, TMLD 26 (122) June 21, 1996] Drawing the Entire Polity into DiscussionThe material in this book emphasizes how throughout their entire history The Internationalists and CPC(M-L) have never considered themselves a unique force, separate or sectarian but an integral part of all the forces struggling to change society. They have always drawn the masses of the people into discussion at every stage of their work. With the launch of the Historic Initiative, the aim is to draw the entire polity into discussion. How are people to be involved in this discussion? What CPC(M-L) thinks can be clearly seen in the material dealing with the beginning of the Modern Communism Information Project (MCIP) in June 1996. "The Modern Communism Information Project (MCIP) is the most important work upon which CPC(M-L) has ever embarked. It is the most important because all the work that has been taken up prior to this point has created the conditions for the key work of developing the human factor, social consciousness with the aim of transforming CPC(M-L) into a mass Communist Party and to involve people to create a system through which they can exercise control over their lives. The MCIP is at the centre of this project. Its success is premised on people from all walks of life being involved in discussing and debating, according to the contemporary conditions, what communism ought or ought not to be. The discussion focuses on what kind of system is needed, who should work it out and who should be involved in bringing it about. A most historic discussion has begun on the form and content of a system that will enable people to exercise control over their lives. The flourishing of this discussion amongst all sections of the people will contribute in the broadest possible manner to the opening of the door for the progress of society. "With the MCIP as a starting point, CPC(M-L) will provide people with all the knowledge available to it. Contemporary Marxist-Leninist thought will be put at the service of arming the people with the ideological, political and theoretical information about the struggle for the creation of a new society. At the same time as it boldly disseminates this information, the Party will carry out programs and actions to involve people in actually working out and determining for themselves the kind of system that is needed through which they can exercise control over their lives." [Modern Communism Information Project Begins, TMLD 26 (118) June 17, 1996] The working class in particular has to discuss seriously where it is to go from here, what it must do to unleash its initiative to establish a new system for its own emancipation, as the condition for the emancipation of all humanity. "CPC(M-L) is fully cognizant of the fact that the working class does not have an idle preoccupation in knowing what modern communism is. On the contrary, it looks at modern communism as at any other system, with the aim of making a conscious decision whether or not it suits society and its advance from this stage of capitalist exploitation and wage slavery to its negation, a higher system in which people's human rights are recognized not just civil rights. In other words, the working class is seeking concrete discussion arising out of the concrete conditions, in which there is an immediate need to defeat the anti-social offensive with a pro-social program and to embark on the creation of a new society to ensure that such a thing as exploitation of persons by persons will never happen again. "It is not some intellectual exercise that the working class is interested in. As the class, which is historically the gravedigger of the bourgeoisie and whose mission is to emancipate itself as the condition for the emancipation of humanity, the immediate aim of the working class is to place itself as the leader of society, which it can only do by working out a system through which people can exercise control over their lives. "The working class, in the objective sense, is the material weapon of theory, while contemporary Marxist-Leninist thought is its spiritual weapon. The two together make up the human factor/social consciousness which comes into being when the advanced ideas of the working class are gripped by the broad masses of the people and revolution takes place." [ibid.] Transforming CPC(M-L) into a Mass Communist PartyThe material makes clear that the "midwife" for such
developments would
be the mass Communist Party. A key aim of the Historic Initiative is to
lay the
foundations for such a development and to transform CPC(M-L) into a
mass
Party. Laying the foundations and the transformation of the Party are
complementary to the people involving themselves in working out their
system, bringing it into being and thereby taking control of their own
lives. 8th
Congress of CPC(M-L) held in Ottawa, August 2008, under the banner
"Laying the Foundations of the Mass Communist Party" In the important speech "The Challenge We Accept" presented by Comrade Bains in November 1996, he points out that initial success has been achieved in this work to build a mass Communist Party. Such a Party organizes the masses, establishes new arrangements according to the concrete conditions, takes up the interests of the masses and gives coherence to the aims of the working class. Based on its coherence, such a Party accepts the challenge of eliminating isolation and marginalization so as not to become stuck in the diversionary battles present in society. Comrade Bains explains: "When we say that our Party has had initial success in the creation of the subjective conditions for revolution, we mean that the Party now exists. It not only exists but it is also now at the point of having a vision of what kind of Party it should be, how it should be organized and what its future is. Once that kind of Party comes into being, a mass Communist Party, then the initial success will turn into permanent victory. The entire working class, all the broad masses of the people, will be inseminated by that Communist Party and it will become impossible to turn back. Such a Communist Party will then organize for revolution. "A Communist Party, which is not conscious of working out arrangements to at least smash the Liberal-Labour alliance in a few places, a Communist Party not capable of analyzing what are grassroots and what are the arrangements in terms of waging an extra-parliamentary struggle, a Communist party not able to differentiate between what is revolutionary action and what is not, that Communist Party has no future whatsoever. "The standpoint of a mass Communist Party, from the outset, is to organize the masses, establish new arrangements and create the conditions for a new society. That is why it is called a mass Communist Party. A mass Communist Party is not mass because it can accommodate everyone. A mass Communist Party exists because it puts the interests of the masses in first place, both as its standpoint and in all its work. It provides coherence to the aims of the working class. The mass Party provides the working class with its own consciousness so that the working class feels it is not irrational or ignorant or a bunch of babbling idiots. The entire bourgeois pressure is to eliminate such coherence. "What kind of coherence will be given to the working class in the anti-social offensive? What will be said to the working class? The bourgeoisie and the labour aristocracy can only promote irrational ideas and ignorance and suggest that the workers should only look out for themselves, that each individual is for himself or herself and that individual families, individual job security and individual pursuits in life are all there is. They want to eliminate collectivity, the greatest social phenomenon that has come into being. "When we begin from the basic thesis that our Communist Party is a modern arrangement with its own ideological basis, it is this which provides coherence to the polity; this is what makes people think about the direction in which society must go and this is what provides the working class with its leading role. "Arrangements have to be made on the basis of studying where the people are who want to be arranged. There are always people in this world who would like to be arranged. And what do they want to be arranged for? The reasons already have to exist. In other words, we have to see the kind of possibilities, which already exist among the masses, and the arrangements have to be made accordingly. At the same time, the constant work of the Party must go on. The Party must establish organizations of the younger generation. It must carry on consolidating its organs like TML Daily and conducting its other activities. In other words, it must be understood that arrangements are not a matter of presupposing or pre-concluding what can and cannot be done. "Such a Communist Party will go another 25 years, but under new conditions. It will rock the boat of Anglo-American imperialism. Once that boat is rocked in Canada, imperialism will not be able to steer it anywhere, not in the US, and not in Britain, Australia or South Africa, not to speak of India." [The Challenge We Accept, Speech by Comrade Bains to Central Consultative Forum of CPC(M-L), November 9, 1996, p.52] TML reported Comrade Bains' speech: "Comrade Bains acquainted the participants with an extremely important thesis on the necessity for the working class to realize the theory and practice of a new arrangement for the organization of society, an arrangement which will form the basis for the creation of a new society that recognizes and guarantees the claims of all its members and all its collectives upon it. The presentation elaborated the inseparable and crucial task of eliminating the isolation and marginalization of communism. He delineated some of the essential and indispensable features of a modern communist party in this period of the historic shift." [Accepting the Challenge: Trailblazing the Path to Victory, TMLD 26 (219) November 11, 1996] Broad WreckingAll this work has taken place and continues to take place in the face of broad wrecking by the bourgeoisie aimed at both the Party and the entire society. The material shows the intensity this wrecking reached in the 1995-96 period and how the Party coped with such pressure. It is here that the tactic of turning liabilities into assets can be clearly seen. From the beginning of the period of retreat, this has involved identifying and strengthening the main work, increasing political activity, identifying those forces in whose interest it is to take up the work, and carrying out maximum political mobilization to ensure the success of the work. This has been seen as a trial of strength for the very existence of the Party. Putting quality in the first place, forces have been chosen for the work who will implement the plan rather than choosing those who agree in words but then do not carry out the work. Emphasis has been placed on integrating and converging, and opposing those forces bent on disintegration. Self-reliance has been stressed on all fronts. By the end of 1995 and coinciding with the Party being on the threshold of its greatest advance, the liquidationist pressures on the Party reached the level of the basest slanders and smear campaigns, of conciliation with liberalism, of gross indifference, treachery and irrationalism. The bourgeoisie with its labour aristocracy acting as its social prop pressured the Party with liquidationism. As always, the Party protected itself from the liquidationist pressure by stepping up its work to implement its plan, recognising its assets in the working class and the work of the Party, and by eliminating its liabilities, the old way of doing things and the old that refused to renew itself. The Party was fully prepared to settle scores with anyone who tried to raise their hand against the Party and its work, confident that when the time comes to make the decision it is the enemies of communism who break their necks. The Party was confident in the working class, the youth and intelligentsia, confident that they will give rise to those people who can organize everything on the most advanced basis and see the work as the aim of their lives. Because the Party has always paid the closest attention to its own work thus creating its own history, ideology and theory, it was pointed out that the various elements who pitted themselves against the Party faced one single sheet of steel and would definitely break their necks. Reporting on the Ninth Plenum of the Sixth Central Committee of CPC(M-L) held in January 1996, TML says: "The Plenum also discussed the pressure to liquidate the Party with irrationalism and smear campaigns, the arsenal of the anti-communist offensive in its hysterical, bankrupt and vain effort to turn the tide against the opening of the door for the progress of society. The Plenum strongly opposed the liquidationist pressure and rejected the method of smear campaigns against this or that individual or organization. It stressed that CPC(M-L) is based on one line with Contemporary Marxist-Leninist Thought at the base of its theoretical thinking, and the cause of the working class for its final emancipation as its only aim. "The Plenum identified this liquidationist pressure as a component part of the counter-revolutionary work of those who are conciliating with liberalism. The Plenum called upon all the Marxist-Leninists, and all progressive and democratic forces to defeat irrationalism, and defeat the methods of splitting and smear campaigns used by the bourgeoisie and the conciliators with liberalism. The Plenum called upon the members and sympathizers to march in step with the work of democratic renewal and of lifting the society out of the crisis." [Ninth Plenum of the Central Committee of CPC(M-L) Held, TMLW 1 (1) January 14, 1996] "Comrade Bains pointed out that the past ten years of work was ushered in by the 4th Congress, the period of developing the leading role of the Party. One of the greatest practical projects during this period was the building of the mass party press and the development of the enlightenment movement. This work marked a departure with everything that was based on merely the repetition of some ideas, or merely a propaganda project, or projects of agitation from time to time. The period of 1982-1985 gave rise to a practical project for the working class to take up, and as this project was irresistibly taken up and as it advanced, its enemies arose. One of the preferred tricks of certain enemies was to listen and agree with all the decisions and then do nothing about it. CPC(M-L) was not exasperated or hamstrung by this. In a movement of such high and noble ideals directed towards the complete emancipation of the working class, such indifference thrown in its way cannot become an obstruction. Sooner or later, the curtain is called and the time comes to make a decision and when it does it is the enemies of communism who break their necks. "Comrade Bains explained that the period since 1982 has seen such elements, particularly amongst the middle strata, who more and more have joined and become one with the bourgeoisie, creating every kind of illusion about the present system. Others have placed themselves in various positions amongst the working class, demanding a special status for themselves whereby they have something else to do while everybody does the work to open the path for progress of the projects the Party has set for itself. There have also emerged hooligan elements who refuse to adhere to even the most elementary fact that CPC(M-L) has its theoretical thinking, its organizational principles, its strategy and tactics and most importantly a history of its own creation. The behaviour of these forces, who claim to be standing for progress yet in practice oppose the Party and its projects, through their conduct lower the profile of the progressive movement and present the communist movement as if it is nothing and is not going to achieve anything. Comrade Bains pointed out that the emergence of such enemies who stand in the way of the battles, which the Party wages is nothing new. They have never diverted the Party from waging its fight in defence of the interests of the working class, of the enlightened sections of the society, and in the interests of all those, nationally and internationally, who stand for democratic renewal of the world. "It is precisely because the Party has always paid the closest attention to its own work, creating its own history, and its own ideology and theory, that the various elements which pit themselves against the Party are faced with granite rock. "Comrade Bains went on to explain that the reason the decision which the Party is taking at this time can be characterized as perilous is because the Party is on the threshold of the greatest advance. It is precisely perilous because in such a courageous venture one could very well be beaten and suffer a setback. However, Comrade Bains emphasized, only those who try to scale the highest mountains can say they have at least tried even if they at first suffer failure. In this regard, Comrade Bains stated that the situation requires the utmost vigilance. First and foremost, he said, there has to be vigilance in terms of our ideology and our theory." [Speech to the 9th Enlarged Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), TMLD 26 (1) January 2, 1996] Reporting on the Tenth Plenum in March 1996, TML says: "An ongoing theme during the proceedings of the Plenum was the discussion of the liquidationist pressure, the place weaknesses in the work have in facilitating this pressure, and the role of perfidy, treachery and betrayal during this period of retreat of revolution. All the participants in the Plenum hailed the historic success of the work during this past year in which CPC(M-L) has irresistibly developed its all-round momentum, fully detaching this work from all the encumbrances and setbacks which may occur in other fields because of treachery and betrayal." [CC of CPC(M-L) Holds its Tenth Plenum, TMLD 26 (55) March 18, 1996] Reporting on a meeting of Party activists from Central Canada (Ontario and Quebec) chaired by Comrade Bains in Toronto on April 28, 1996 TML says: "The main item on the agenda was to bring the work of ‘turning liabilities into assets' to its conclusion. This is to ensure that the key political task of the period, the consolidation of the mass Party press, is carried out with success. "In organizing, realizing the 'essence' of a task is crucial. It is not enough to merely 'pose the problem' or 'make some motion' in the direction of its solution. The point is to solve the problem, to realize the essence. Our Party does not depend on spontaneity. On the contrary, it creates everything anew consciously, which is the reason it puts such emphasis on the organizing work. CPC(M-L) has nothing but its class and its own work as its assets, which the Party must put at the disposal of the task to be realized. "The old world, the old ways of doing things, the bourgeoisie and the liquidationist pressure are the Party's liabilities. It must transform the resistance of the old world to change itself into a broad movement for the destruction of the old world. "The elimination of the liabilities of the Party is the condition for the deployment of its assets for the victory of the new. Development in the final analysis has its own laws. There can be no construction without destruction." [An Enthusiastic Consultative Meeting, TMLD 26 (84) April 29, 1996] The Party protects itself, develops and grows by strengthening its new arrangements, making these more and more modern and commensurate with the needs of the time, as Comrade Bains points out in "The Challenge We Accept" in November 1996: "The Party carries out work in various fields. Most importantly, it does not submit to the pressure of liquidation and disintegration in the sphere of work related to the Communist Party. "The communist movement fell apart, but CPC(M-L) did not disintegrate. As you know, a Communist Party strengthens itself by overcoming a split. A Communist Party overcomes a split not by looking at itself or carrying out espionage work on who is going to split. Rather, a Party protects itself, develops and grows by strengthening its new arrangements and by making these more and more modern and commensurate with the needs of the times. "A Party's ideological base becomes clearer and it overcomes a split by ensuring that more and more people split with the bourgeoisie and rally around the Party and the working class." [The "Challenge We Accept," p.23] Speaking to the Central Consultative Forum of CPC(M-L) January 1, 1997 Comrade Bains said: "In spite of all the progress made in the work of CPC(M-L) and its mass organizations, the period of retreat of revolution and all-round retrogression continues to put the most brutal, inhuman, liquidationist pressure on the entire communist and workers' movement in Canada as well as internationally. It has assumed the form of broad wrecking in recent years, especially in 1995 and 1996. The struggle against wrecking of the communist and workers' movement has assumed the greatest importance, both in the ideological as well as the organizational and political spheres. Nineteen ninety-seven will witness a vigorous development, the most resolute and uncompromising struggle against wrecking." Speaking to the National Consultative Forum of CPC(M-L) March 30, 1997 Comrade Bains said: "The Internationalists in August 1964 went on record to expel 41 members out of 43. It was not a two-line struggle. It was a one-line struggle. And that one line was the line of two people. So, after the 7th Congress or some other time, if a similar occasion arises before the turn of the 21st century, it will be done again as far as I'm concerned. It will not be done in the way I described where we get together to expel members. It will be done right in front of our eyes by the people themselves. I am quite confident in our social class, the working class and in our youth and intelligentsia. I am confident they will give rise to those people who can organize everything on the most advanced basis. Comrades, anybody who has eyes and anybody who opens those eyes once in a while can see if they wish to do so. They can see that the conditions are crying out for a social force that is involved in this work as the aim of their lives." Who Is Extreme, Disruptive, Un-Canadian?The bourgeoisie and its apologists depict communism and communists as un-Canadian, extreme, divorced from the people, and the cause of disruption for pursuing what will never work. Yet what are the facts? CPC(M-L) can proudly say that right since its inception as The Internationalists in 1963, it has been a genuinely Canadian trend. The Party has never become an agency of any foreign power or lived off borrowed ideas or through plagiarizing or mimicking others. What other political party in Canada can make such a claim? Certainly not those who tie Canada to the US war machine, open up the country and its economy to foreign control and impose so-called "Canadian values," which are an affront to Canadians' right of conscience and blatantly anti-worker, anti-social, racist and anti-communist in content. Are such parties that push anti-social neo-liberalism not the disruptive, un-Canadian extremists divorced from the people? CPC(M-L) not only bases itself on a profound analysis of the existing problems facing the Canadian people and their needs within this concrete situation, it has always set its work on the basis of a plan that involves the working class and its allies themselves becoming involved in discussing and debating the way forward. This modern method of work involves the working class and its allies themselves in changing the situation and taking control of their own lives. Who is it who directly disrupts or acts as apologists for disrupting the lives of the people, dragging them into colonial wars, attacking their rights, livelihoods, services and industrial base, privatizing and selling out Canadians' common public property and natural resources? Who makes endless promises of a better future but time and again delivers only policy objectives and further chaos and devastation? Certainly not the communists, who are in the forefront of resistance to these anti-Canadian attacks! Only CPC(M-L) puts forward a vision and plan for a realizable new society, and proudly defends and carries forward within the new conditions the edifice of communism, which is the hope of all humanity. Any serious and unprejudiced investigation willing to break through the dark fog of disinformation shows communism was behind every positive step taken by humankind over the past century and will likewise be at the forefront of all progressive developments in the 21st century.
Organizing Means Making People Conscious of the Task as the Condition for VictoryHardial Bains, National Leader of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), spoke to leading activists from the Ontario Regional Committee of CPC(M-L) on July 20, 1996 in Toronto. At the meeting, Comrade Bains put forward an important thesis, which was published for broad discussion. The thesis deals with important questions of organizing, especially taking measures objectively for the growth of the human factor/social consciousness. It is connected with making the people conscious of the tasks that are the decisive factor for victory. Given below are some salient features of this thesis. Who should be at the centre stage of all social developments? This question is of vital importance and has already been settled in history. It is the working class that must be at the centre stage of all developments. The working class must be the main and leading force for opening the door to progress for the society. CPC(M-L), as the vanguard of the working class, has worked out political mechanisms to make sure the working class is at the centre stage of all social developments; these include, besides other things, the Party's organizational principle of democratic centralism and its method of work of collective work/individual responsibility. Hardial Bains introduced the discussion by focussing on the organizations of CPC(M-L) and the institutions of the technical base. These organizations and institutions are crucial for the creation of the conscious factor, that is, the creation of the subjective conditions for revolution. The technical base includes all the institutions that facilitate the work of CPC(M- L): the national office, the research institutions, the institutions connected with the production of TML Daily, as well as the distribution of publications and the entire production process. CPC(M-L) has paid a great deal of attention to this work since 1968 when The Internationalists was reorganized and the decision was taken to create the conditions for the building of CPC(M-L). How do these organizations of CPC(M-L) and institutions of the technical base contribute to the development of the conscious factor? On whose shoulders must these institutions lean to gain in strength? Are these shoulders not those of the working class as it is made more and more conscious of its responsibilities to itself and the society? For instance, can the national office develop its work without the women, workers, youth and students providing it with assistance? Where else is the strength going to originate to complete the work if not from making the working class conscious of the necessity of the national office and its tasks? It is only by mobilising women, workers, youth and students that the national office can make any headway. By 1965-66, it had become clear that the Canadian bourgeois political parties could not function without being heavily dependent on the rich. This dependence, in addition to creating an uneven playing field for political parties, also discredited them, and continues to do so in the eyes of the people, as mere mouthpieces of the rich. It is known that "He who pays the piper calls the tune." These bourgeois parties were soon to reform the electoral law and provide themselves with huge resources from the state treasury to facilitate their political manoeuvring to come to power. However, any serious study of the state of the political parties in 1965-66 and in 1996 will reveal that financial resources are not the key in political organizing. No, the key in political organizing is the raising of the ideological and political level of the people. Bourgeois parties are not interested in placing the people at the centre stage of all social developments. These political parties are gatekeepers barring the people from assuming political power. These political parties make headway not by raising the ideological and political level of the people; on the contrary, they make headway by lowering the people's level. CPC(M-L) is the champion of the people ascending to power. It stands for direct democracy wherein the people select and elect the candidates for office, and the people retain and exercise full control over the political affairs of the country. The legislative power must be subordinate to the people. For CPC(M-L) the greatest want or problem is the organizing and mobilizing of the people behind a task rather than any financial or other problem. Concretely expressed, the organizing and mobilizing of the people behind the organizations of CPC(M-L) and the institutions of the technical base has become the most crucial question of the day. Hardial Bains stressed that if such a thing is not accomplished, all the organizations of CPC(M-L) and the institutions of the technical base will transform themselves into instruments opposed to the aim for which they were established in the first place. The first institution of the technical base was the Necessity For Change Institute of Ideological Studies, established in 1967. The logic behind this Institute was that the work of study, investigation and research belongs to the working class and the broad masses of the people. The need for a professional research institute was necessary to fulfil the need of the people for scientific material, especially social science. The Institute was established based on the enthusiasm of the people for such work. At the same time, it was not a political organization in itself. This institute, as one of the enterprises of the technical base, played and continues to play a crucial role in raising the ideological and political level of the people. To advance this work, to further develop its quality and quantity, it is absolutely necessary to organize and mobilize the people to support it in every way. This means to make the working class conscious that this work is crucial for its own cause of emancipation. Two ingredients are necessary for this qualitative development. First is the human factor and the necessary material resources for its development. Put succinctly and directly, people working in such an institute have to eat and clothe and shelter themselves before they are able to do any work. Will the institute produce products that will become popular amongst the people, arousing them to willingly finance the people working there in return for its production? The second ingredient is social consciousness. Are the people working in the institute fully dedicated to their product, that it must fulfil the needs of the people to raise their ideological and political level? In other words, the institute must produce materials needed by the people without putting the profit-motive in command. At the same time, people working in the institute have to be confident that they will elicit a definite response from the people for the materials they produce. The institute literally has to be run by the people, of the people and for the people, even though to put it this way may appear trite. Hardial Bains called upon everyone to pay the utmost attention to and fully appreciate what it means in the objective sense to run the institute or other institutions of the technical base such as the national office, distribution enterprise, publishing houses etc. He said the only institution of the technical base in existence in early 1968 was the Necessity For Change Institute of Ideological Studies. Soon however, by August 1968, another institution was established quickly followed by many others. For over twenty-eight years, the Marxist-Leninists have had several important institutions. How should these institutions develop in 1996? Should grants be sought from the state as the bourgeois political parties have done since 1965-66? Or should a path be opened, eliminating the weaknesses of the existing institutions and developing them as real fortresses of communism? Real fortresses of communism are those where people work on an unremitting professional basis, educate themselves constantly as to what is the purpose of their particular institution and strive to make the people conscious of the necessity and importance of the work. For instance, an enterprise distributing progressive literature has to deeply grasp that the people need such literature. They actually need it badly, even desperately one can say. Those in the enterprise have to let the people know that such literature exists, which will help them even while in the midst of creating the new. This is not just a matter of telemarketing. It is a matter of deeply responding to the need of the people to raise their ideological and political level, and making them conscious of the services the enterprise provides. The accounting of these enterprises is done on the basis of sharing the income according to the kind of work a person does and the ability they bring to the work, as well as their individual needs, which are also taken into consideration to a certain extent. Most importantly and significantly, labour is not considered a cost. On the contrary, the total income minus costs belongs not only to the collective working there but also to the working class as a whole. Such a collective contributes not only through their own work but also by making it extremely successful so that it is able to support and even start-up enterprises if necessary. In other words, such an institution belongs to the working class in the true sense of the word. This kind of institution has a future at this time. It is this kind of institution that assists the growth of the human factor/social consciousness, an institution that produces individuals who not only look out for themselves but do so within the framework of the needs of the collective and the general interests of the society, and to open a path for progress. In contrast, what is the bourgeoisie offering? Their latest concoction is the notion of a "stakeholders' society." It is a concept to divide the working class and make them fight with one another. From organizing themselves at the top in the form of tripartism -- governments, big business and big labour -- they are now busy seeking a form of tripartism that operates from the base as well. Ideological work for this very dangerous new development is taking place especially in Britain, but its manifestation is already apparent in Canada as well. It is reminiscent of the marshalling of the masses to support German imperialism by "Making Germany Great Again" through the "national socialism" of the German Nazi Party. To this end today, the Labour Party of Britain has come up with the twaddle of a "stakeholders' society" as part of the bourgeoisie's campaign to "Make Britain Great Again." According to the "New Labour" ideologues of the Labour Party of Britain, the society is not composed of classes but of "stakeholders." The motive force for development is not the class struggle but the seeking of a "balance" between these disparate "stakeholders." In accordance with this vulgar materialism, at the level of an enterprise all human beings are presented as stakeholders. Class differences vanish before the commonness of being a "stakeholder." Only the bourgeoisie and its allies can have a stake in capitalism, but it cleverly wants to convince the working class that it also has a stake in it. The only stake the working class has in capitalism is to overthrow it and build socialism. The various people who do have a stake in capitalism matter little to the working class whether they are stockholders, management, certain consumers and customers, suppliers, governments, big business and big labour. A worker knows instinctively that all of the above have a stake in the capitalist system, which they wish to defend. A worker also knows instinctively that these stakeholders work together with the aim of creating value in an enterprise from which they profit in opposition to the interests of the working class. On a grander scale, they work together to "Make Britain Great Again" to extend their influence and power. Workers are supposed to forget all this, even though they realize it instinctively. They are supposed to declare themselves, against all logic, as stakeholders in the capitalist system and not opponents of it. The workers, according to the ideologues of New Labour, must abandon class struggle and class antagonisms and believe that everything will be looked after when a "balance" is struck amongst the various "stakeholders." The capitalist system, which develops through violent crises and destruction of the productive forces creating an ever-increasing standing army of unemployed and exploding number of poor, is now supposedly going to help a worker because that worker has become a "stakeholder" in capitalism. What a farce and treachery! It would be extremely comical if it were not so tragic that the labour aristocracy is fully engaged in ensuring the realization of this tripartism at the base, a diversionary scheme that is so profoundly against the interests of the working class. The spurious stakeholder thesis presupposes that the contemporary world marks "the end of history" and further stages in the development of society are not possible. Taking this falsity as an eternal truth, New Labour becomes the preacher of shuffling things around in society. It seeks to create an alliance at the base comprised of the capitalists and workers alike in whose interests it will allegedly be to defend the capitalist system and go to war to "Make Britain Great Again." The result of such schemes will be to foster the greatest divisions within the working class and other working people and make them fight with one another rather than wage class struggle and prepare conditions to advance society to its next stage. Instead of contributing to the overthrow of capitalism, the working class will be busy defending the very system that is the root of its exploitation and oppression. Instead of developing antagonism against private property and exploitation of persons by persons, antagonism will be developed against those who wage the class struggle to overthrow the capitalist system and build a socialist society. If allowed to succeed, the greatest assets of the society, the human productive forces, will be mercilessly squandered and the anti-human factor/anti-consciousness will go through an unbridled growth presenting every infamy and brutality as the grandest exploit for the greater glory of Britain, shutting the door to the progress of the society for a long time. This tripartism at the base is to disarm completely the working class ideologically. The thesis presented by Comrade Bains poses the question: Can there be an enterprise or a society without antagonism? An enterprise or society without any antagonism is an enterprise or society without life. Absence of antagonism presupposes that there is no longer any struggle on the basis of division between opposites and that everything has already been achieved. Society comes to an end and all that is required is to merely work out a balance among all those people who have a "stake" in that society. In other words, the motive of development of such a society is to seek a balance among the "stakeholders" to eliminate any antagonism from a society based on class antagonisms. However, antagonism within the capitalist society between the exploited and the exploiters exists objectively. At the head of the exploited stands the working class, while at the head of the exploiters stands the bourgeoisie. The antagonism under socialism is between the forces of revolution and the forces for the restoration of capitalism, and under communism between the old and the new. The creation of a "stakeholders" society under capitalism will not achieve a balance; it will heighten the existing antagonisms between the exploited and the exploiters to the highest level giving rise to constant conflicts and strife. Only a socialist revolution can overcome the split in society between the exploited and the exploiters, eliminate class antagonisms and create the condition for the complete emancipation of all humanity. There is a place for antagonism in the society but not when it acts as a destructive force. This is precisely what class antagonisms are doing at the present time. These antagonisms are forcibly maintained by the capitalist class, which is dead-set against the socialisation of the ownership of the means of production as the condition for the elimination of the class divisions. The humanizing of the social and natural environment invokes the utilization of the human productive forces to act against all class antagonisms. However, antagonism as it pertains to society and nature is not a negative force in itself. It is destructive when the antagonisms are used to block the advance of the society for self-serving reasons, as the bourgeoisie is doing at this time. The very act of affirmation as a human being is the rejection of the relationship between the current form of ownership through which the vast majority of the people are wage-slaves exploited by a small minority. To seek a balance among the interests of people in a society based on this form of ownership is to be extremely antagonistic towards the people and the way forward. To be rational is to reject this effort to establish a so-called balance. To be rational is to remove the irrational assault taking place that attempts a balance where none exists, which is actually the anti-human factor/anti-consciousness. The thesis of July 20 recognizes the existence of an abundance of problems in the society. The issue is this: Can we suggest that these existing problems in the society are caused by the "attitude" of this or that individual, or the good or bad "policy objectives" of a certain political party or institution? Who is to be blamed for the seemingly unsolvable issues such as unemployment, job insecurity and poverty, and the social, cultural and spiritual problems? For the "New Labour" ideologues of the Labour Party of Britain, the issue is merely one of everyone in the society recognizing themselves as "stakeholders." How will a worker do that? How will a worker have the same stake in capitalism as the Queen of England? The bourgeoisie, in its desperate effort to prolong its life a bit longer, is dangling the noose of a "stakeholders" society with which, it hopes, workers will hang themselves. Capitalism in its decline has come up with all kinds of theses to claim that capitalism has become human. They are part of an attempt to suggest that capitalism is the most advanced system human beings are capable of creating and that capitalism's only problems are that it has certain weaknesses. It is suggested that once these ills, these weaknesses are overcome it will become even more human than it supposedly already is. According to the ideologues of these theses, problems within the capitalist system are only of a policy nature and not fundamental. In other words, the capitalist system is not looked at objectively; it is viewed from the angle of the aims of the capitalists who are the dominant economic force in the society. Such views of the dominant economic force, its prevailing ideas, also exert pressure on the working class and the broad masses of the people. In place of measures that are capable of dealing with the situation in the objective sense, it is suggested that individuals or policies are to blame. Illusions are created that by changing this or that attitude, either of individuals or groups, the situation will change. This obviously ignores the fact that societies follow their own objective laws of development and decline. Speaking a year and a half ago to a group of individuals who had begun a "litigation" against one of the institutions, Hardial Bains strongly emphasized that the issue is not to find who is to be blamed from amongst the Party and the people for the existence of these problems. The issue is to see that problems exist. They are the result of the sharpening of class struggle and all people should work together to solve the problems. He further pointed out that by dealing with this problem by going through the courts is to wage class struggle against the people. How can a bourgeois court deal with a problem stemming from the basic issue that there are people who stand for opening the door for the progress of the society and others who are opposed? One of the most vocal "litigants" declared at the time, "It is Hardial Bains who is responsible for the problem." Having made the statement, this person made no suggestion as to how to resolve the problem "caused" by Hardial Bains. On the contrary, the problem remains today and the litigants including that person are still pursuing the issue in the courts. Furthermore, the problem has now been handed over to the RCMP for a "criminal" investigation. In other words, the issue in question has now been declared a problem in the realm of the law. In sum, the litigants are waging class struggle through the use of the courts and the RCMP. The posture they assumed, declaring that they are interested to sort out the problem, was merely for effect and to discredit Hardial Bains. The point of this example is to stress that the person who accused Hardial Bains of allegedly "causing" the problem was merely interested in maligning him. He was not interested in sorting out the problem. Various political parties and organizations accuse others of causing the problems for the explicit and implicit purpose of discrediting their enemies. These political parties and organizations are not interested in solving problems, as is the case with the existing parliamentary parties and politicians. They accuse each other of terrible things but their aim in doing so is merely to come to power themselves. This line of discrediting others by creating "straw people" does not bring anyone closer to the solution of the problems confronting them. Changed human beings are products of changed societies. Speaking generally, people are moulded by the conditions of their work. The most important condition of work within the institutions of the technical base of CPC(M-L) is that all the means of production are collectively owned and are at the disposal of the working class to establish a socialist society. If people were to act according to the reality that these institutions of the technical base belong to them and that they must run these by adhering to the concept of building a "fortress of communism," they would be changed people who would make links with all those institutions of the same kind, and in the process inspire others to do the same. They would be models of how modern human beings must live and work. This would itself contribute to the raising of the ideological and political level of the working class and the broad masses of the people. The human factor/social consciousness arises spontaneously because of the division of the society into classes. All measures taken to promote the growth of the human factor/social consciousness have to be organised in a strictly objective sense. The concepts of a "fortress of communism" and that the assets belong to the collective are favourable to the growth of the human factor/social consciousness. According to the July 20 thesis, if the institutions of the technical base are producing the anti-human factor/anti-consciousness and are not upholding the concepts of building a "fortress of communism" and that the assets belong to the collective, it means that the institutions are not being utilized to raise the ideological and political level of the people. Nay more, such institutions end up ruining themselves. An extremely sharp struggle exists at this time between the human factor/social consciousness and the anti-human factor/anti-consciousness. The bourgeoisie organizes its enterprises and the entire capitalist society so that the anti-human factor/anti-consciousness remains in the dominant position. There can be no such thing as coexistence or balance between the anti-human factor/anti-consciousness and the human factor/social consciousness. This struggle is not between this or that individual; the victory of the human factor/social consciousness cannot be guaranteed on the basis of giving lectures elaborating its essence, or one person as a single warrior doing their level best to achieve it, as in a "one-person show." It is a matter of taking all the measures necessary in the objective sense that will contribute to its growth. CPC(M-L) is taking action as a class force, and has a plan to win this battle. It requires extremely radical and revolutionary action on the part of all the organizations of CPC(M-L) and institutions of the technical base to carry out a militant summation and to pursue a program of advance for their own respective work. It is clear that CPC(M-L) will not permit the use of its own institutions to spontaneously create and produce the anti-human factor/anti-consciousness, but this is not the point. The point is that the institutions of the technical base, as well as all the organizations of CPC(M-L), must be factors for the growth of the human factor/social consciousness. The problems in Canada spring from the system at the foundation of Canadian society and are inherent to it. This system is state monopoly capitalism. The solution to these problems is the overthrow of this monopoly capitalist system, which is at the foundation of the society, and the establishment of a new society that resolves the basic contradiction at the base of society and allows for the quick resolution of the problems engendered by capitalism. All proposals that divert from changing the foundation of the society are quite acceptable to the bourgeoisie, as long as the blame for the problems of society is not put squarely on the capitalist system. These proposals range from accusing the good and bad policies of the political parties, to denouncing certain blood-thirsty capitalists or even a particular sector of the economy such as the banks. All kinds of solutions are advanced and considered except the only valid one: the overthrow of the monopoly capitalist society and its replacement with a pro-social program leading to the construction of socialism. If similar diversionary approaches acceptable to the bourgeoisie are taken towards the institutions of the Party's technical base, problems will proliferate and the people working in these institutions will be at each other's throats. CPC(M-L) exists in the form of its own organizations and the institutions it has established to facilitate different aspects of work including the national office, its publications and their distribution, and other institutions of a technical nature. Basic organizations of CPC(M-L) operate within these institutions as well, in order to provide leadership so that the institutions do not degenerate into their opposite and begin working against the interests of the working class and other working people. The members and supporters of CPC(M-L) persist in this entire work on a self-sacrificing basis. For these organizations to make further headway, they must expand and develop their assets. What are the assets of these organizations? The greatest material asset is the working class and the broad masses of the people. If the organizations of CPC(M-L) and institutions of the technical base were to function on the basis of support from the working class and the broad masses of the people, they will contribute to the raising of their ideological and political level, and to the expansion and development of their asset. The greatest spiritual asset of the Party's organizations is the theory guiding its thinking, Contemporary Marxist-Leninist Thought. The work to develop this theory will also appreciate their asset according to their own conditions. The greatest asset, besides the working class and theory, is the ideological struggle, the organizing and mobilising power, the turning of the notion of a "fortress of communism" into reality. The organizations of CPC(M-L) at various levels, and the institutions of the technical base must engage in resolute, irreconcilable ideological struggle according to their own concrete conditions, raising the image and profile of their own work in the eyes of the masses. The July 20 thesis concludes that from all the above the task confronting the organizations of CPC(M-L) and the institutions of the technical base is to develop their work within their own sectors. The weakness in the work of CPC(M-L) is caused by the pressure of retrogression, which taxes the assets of CPC(M-L) and causes a great deal of damage. Such damage to the assets of CPC(M-L) cannot be reversed without all the organizations of CPC(M-L) and all the institutions of the technical base carrying out their own work on the basis of the resources found within the concrete conditions in which they are established. The July 20 thesis clearly states that the problem does not exist because of the "attitude" of this or that individual, or a particular "policy" of this or that organization of CPC(M-L) and the institutions of the technical base. The problem clearly emanates from the pressure of the forces of retrogression, the class pressure to abandon the task of creating the conscious factor, the opposition to the utilization of the full weight of the available resources for the success of their own work. A transition can be seen whereby the work of certain organizations of CPC(M-L), which were fully dependent on the masses, have now become a burden on the shoulders of just a few individuals. The same is the case with the institutions of the technical base, which have become ingrown and have emerged as a burden on the resources of CPC(M-L). The aim of the July 20 thesis is to turn things around. CPC(M-L) must be one with the working class like a fish in water. All the organizations of CPC(M-L) and the institutions of the technical base must have the support of the masses from within their own sectors. Of all the assets of the society, the most important and decisive is the human factor/social consciousness. This asset develops when the measures are taken in the objective sense. These measures have to be taken by the organizations of CPC(M-L) and institutions of the technical base themselves in order to promote the growth of this factor according to the norms set, and by working out new norms conducive to the growth of this factor. It is only through achieving success in their own organizations that the human factor/social consciousness can develop; and, it is only through the development of the human factor/social consciousness that success can be transformed into victory. The work of all these organizations of CPC(M-L) and the institutions of the technical base depends on the involvement of women, workers, youth and students. The more women are involved in the work, the more successful it will be, as is the case with the workers, and the youth and students. In conclusion, the July 20 thesis challenges all the organizations of CPC(M-L) and all the institutions of the technical base to contribute to the growth of the human factor/social consciousness in such a manner that this entire work becomes invincible. This challenge demands to be taken up at once. (TML Daily Vol. 26 No. 142, July 22, 1996) Read The Marxist-Leninist Daily
|