First Published: In Struggle No. 105, January 4, 1978
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Malcolm and Paul Saba
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A few weeks ago IN STRUGGLE! announced in no. 103 of its newspaper the holding of a Fourth Conference on the tasks of Marxist-Leninists in the re-construction of the proletarian party, to be held on February 4 and 5. IN STRUGGLE! is thus putting into practice the pledge it made more than a year ago, now, to develop ideological struggle within the Marxist-Leninist movement, particularly by organizing public conferences. The conferences have gathered together all the groups and organizations that sincerely wished to debate before the masses and thus help the Marxist-Leninist viewpoint move forward on the basic questions concerning the future of the proletariat’s revolutionary struggle. From this standpoint, the three first conferences undoubtedly contributed to the process of demarcating the Marxist-Leninist point of view from those held by opportunists on the questions of unity, the path of the revolution and the International situation. The Fourth Conference will deal with the tasks to be achieved in order to build our proletarian party. It will be all the more important considering that at the present time counter-revolutionaries of ail kinds and opportunists are desperately trying to promote their “party” or project of a party amongst the Canadian proletariat.
Several Marxist-Leninist groups were invited to present their positions in the workshops and plenary sessions at the Fourth Conference: The Canadian Communist League (Marxist-Leninist), in spite of the sectarianism in which it is consolidating itself, and the Red Star Collective (RSC). the Vancouver Red Collective (VRC) and the Red Wind Collective (RWC), all three from Vancouver. In addition, written invitations were sent to two groups, the Workers Unity Collective from Edmonton, which had attended the Second Conference on the path of the revolution in Canada, and the Victoria Study Group (VSG), inviting them to attend the Fourth Conference in order to defend their viewpoints in the workshops and plenary sessions.
Meanwhile, after several meetings between the VRC and IN STRUGGLE!, this group has decided to rally to the ranks of IN STRUGGLE!. An account of the struggle Involved in the rallying of this group will be published in the pages of this newspaper within a short time. On the other hand, the RWC, while unable to attend the Conference, has undertaken to send a message. As far as the WUC from Edmonton and the VSG are concerned, they have not yet answered our invitation.
No reply has been received from the League either. But why send an invitation to the League after all its opportunist and sectarian gestures with regard to the Marxist-Leninist movement? The answer is simple: so that it attend the conference and defend its “correct” line by other means than systematic lying and distortion of the facts. Up until now, the League has remained entrenched in its usual sectarianism and has sent no reply to our invitation. And so IN STRUGGLE! will be the only Marxist-Leninist group to present its point of view at the Fourth Conference to a certain extent, this is a sign of the progress achieved within our movement, a sign that the unity of Marxist-Leninists has made considerable headway. Indeed, following the debates at the previous conferences, all the groups in agreement with IN STRUGGLE!’s political line have rallied to us and rectified their former errors. But the fact we are the only ones to attend is also a sign of the consolidation of the small-group mentality which characterizes groups such as the League and the RSC, inasmuch as the demarcation with the opportunist line of the League and the RSC has reached the point where they no longer dare present themselves in public conferences where more and more workers come to debate and judge each and everyone’s positions.
This conference is a turning point In the plan for unity put forward by IN STRUGGLE! it is held following three conferences where basic questions of political line were debated and preceding our conferences on the program which will carry the struggle for the unity of Marxist-Leninists to a higher level.
But the importance of this conference lies mainly In the fact that we want it to be a forum where vanguard workers and all progressive militants working within community groups and trade unions will have the occasion to further the struggle against all forms of bourgeois ideology present within the working-class movement. How must we go about getting rid of capitalism? What kind of party do we need to carry out this task? What tasks must we accomplish today within trade unions, community groups, work and study places so as to one day be able to create the true proletarian Party we need in order to overthrow the bourgeoisie? How can we sort out all the so-called revolutionary and workers’ parties already in existence or In the process of being set up?
These are all very important questions that the workers determined to work towards the realization of the proletarian revolution must debate at this conference in order to make it a leap forward in the struggle for the building of our proletarian party. Participate In this debate by attending the Fourth Conference on the tasks of the Marxist-Leninist movement in the reconstruction of the proletarian Party.