The proletariat is the greatest class in the history of mankind. It is the most powerful revolutionary class ideologically, politically and in strength. It can and must unite the overwhelming majority of people around itself so as to isolate the handful of enemies to the maximum and attack them.
Newspaper of the American Communist Workers Movement (Marxist-Leninist) PO 5221, Cleveland, Ohio
Vol. 4, No. 1 Jan. 4, 1973
10ยข
CALL FOR A CONFERENCE OF NORTH AMERICAN MARXIST-LENINISTS See pg. 5
A GREAT BEGINNING, A GLORIOUS FUTURE
The PREPARATORY COMMITTEE for convening the CONFERENCE OF NORTH AMERICAN MARXIST-LENINISTS held an historic meeting. The meeting was hosted by the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) and attended by representatives from the CPC (ML) the Communist Party of Quebec (Marxist-Leninist), the American Communist Workers Movement (Marxist-Leninist), the Association of Communist Workers, the Communist League, Red Collective and Red Star Cadres. Many Afro-Asian Marxist-Leninists also participated as delegates. Fraternal comrades from the Communist Party of England (Marxist-Leninist) and the Communist Party of Ireland (Marxist-Leninist) also attended the proceedings.
Comrades participating from the five organizations in the U.S. included representatives from all over the country (close to twenty cities were represented). The committee received two veteran American communists, comrades Kilpatrick and Dougher, who have struggled for communism for 50 years. All the American comrades had high regard for the CPC (ML) and applauded its enthusiastic support for the building of a Communist Party in the U.S. The entire proceedings were carried out in a tremendous spirit of unity and of working hard to develops policies and plans to serve the revolutionary masses. The conference arrived at several important decisions and adopted the CALL FOR A CONFERENCE OF NORTH AMERICAN MARXIST-LENINISTS. This historic CALL demands the attention of every Marxist-Leninist, it calls upon all Marxist-Leninists in the U.S. to unite on the basis of Marxism-Leninism and for the building of a Communist Party and as a first step to participate in a mass democratic conference of Marxist-Leninists to be organized sometime in 1973. The comrades from all the organizations present enthusiastically began to work together to carry forward the preparations for the conference...
Comrades: WORKERS' ADVOCATE strongly considers that the historic success of the preparatory committee meeting and the publication of the CALL FOR A CONFERENCE OF NORTH AMERICAN MARXIST-LENINISTS constitutes a A GREAT NEW BEGINNING. This conference and this call are a tremendous reflection of the NEW SPIRIT OF UNITY AMONGST THE MARXIST-LENINISTS in the U.S. and North America. The solidarity that is developing amongst the five American organizations and between the American communists and the Canadian and Quebec communists is also a reflection of this new trend of unity amongst the Marxist-Leninists. The conference and the call are a tremendous step forward on the road to building a genuine PROLETARIAN PARTY OF A NEW TYPE, in the U.S. We say, LET THE UNITY AMONGST THE MARXIST-LENINISTS BROADEN AND DEEPEN, LET THE SOLIDARITY BETWEEN THE AMERICAN COMMUNIST WORKERS MOVEMENT (MARXIST-LENINIST), THE ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNIST WORKERS, THE COMMUNIST LEAGUE. RED COLLECTIVE, RED STAR CADRES. AND AMONGST ALL GENUINE MARXIST-LENINISTS CONSTANTLY DEVELOP and LET THE SPIRIT of the preparatory committee meeting and the CALL FOR A CONFERENCE OF NORTH AMERICAN MARXIST-LENINISTS INSPIRE THE WHOLE CONTINENT.
Comrades: the revolutionary struggle in the U.S. and North America is moving to a HIGHER AND COMPLETELY NEW STAGE; it is the SACRED DUTY OF ALL GENUINE MARXIST-LENINISTS to learn from this GREAT NEW BEGINNING, to take SPIRIT OF UNITY AMONGST THE MARXIST-LENINISTS TO HEART and to participate vigorously in organizing for the CONFERENCE OF NORTH AMERICAN MARXIST-LENINISTS.
For many years the revisionists and opportunists dominated left-wing politics in the U.S. In the I960's tremendous mass struggles emerged amongst the youth and students, the Afro-American people and other oppressed nationalities. Practicing reactionary rightwing sectarianism and splitting up, the revisionists tried to monopolize the field and constantly sought to liquidate the peoples' struggles and the peoples' organizations which came up to serve their struggles. The revisionists regarded Marxism-Leninism as their personal property, betrayed every principle of Marxism-Leninism and robbed the revolutionary masses of our very lifeblood, our revolutionary Communist Party. The revisionists' policy was and is to HIT AT THE MILITANT MARX1ST- LENINISTS so as to promote DISUNITY AMONGST THE PEOPLE AS ABSOLUTE while at the same time promoting the UNITY OF THE REVISIONISTS, CAREERISTS, ANTI-COMMUNISTS AND FASCISTS ON THE BASIS OF BOURGEOIS SELF-INTEREST AND PARAS1STISM on the peoples' struggles. They practiced as their first principle PUT THE NARROW AND SHORT-RANGE IN COMMAND OF THE OVER-ALL SO AS TO DIVIDE THE PEOPLE AND SERVE MONOPOLY CAPITALISM, and promoted economism and reformism amongst the masses.
But the revisionists, dream of dominating and exploiting the revolutionary masses forever was smashed. The revisionists were fooled because the American working class and people have boundless aspiration for revolution. The tremendous class struggles of the 1960's brought forward many revolutionary organizations and individuals who DARED TO STAND UP FOR THE GENUINE REVOLUTIONARY ASPIRATIONS OF THE WORKING CLASS. Through many many struggles NEW CENTERS EMERGED AMONGST THE MASSES which took upon themselves the task of studying and applying MARXISM-LENINISM MAO TSETUNG THOUGHT and uniting the people in the struggle to overthrow the monopoly capitalist ruling class.
The AMERICAN COMMUNIST WORKERS MOVEMENT (MARXIST-LENINIST) is one of these NEYI CENTERS and an ORGANIZATION OF A NEW TYPE which emerged out of the youth and student movement. The ACWM (ML) is an ORGANIZATION OF A NEW TYPE because coming out of the guts of the mass movement we have persisted in APPLYING MAO TSETUNG THOUGHT TO LEARN FROM OUR HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE SO AS TO BUILD THE COMMUNIST ORGANIZATION TO SERVE THE MSS MOVEMENT. Through many struggles we have learned that revisionism is based on: 1. extreme hatred and contempt for the masses, 2. refusing to sum up and propagate the historical experience of the masses and 3. using reactionary bourgeois intellectualism to mystify MARXISM-LENINISM MO TSETUNG THOUGHT and disarm the masses ideologically.
Although many groups and individuals which emerged in the '60's succumbed to revisionism or became passive and passed out of existence, many survived and flourished by applying Marxism-Leninism in their own concrete conditions and learning from their own experience. It is because of the innumerable struggles waged by all these NEW CENTERS that revisionism has been overthrown on various fronts and that today a NEW TREND has emerged. The NEW TREND is the trend of RE-ENUNCIATING THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF MARXISM-LENINISM right amongst the masses and consciously striving to build the Communist Party. Although these groups remained isolated from each other for relatively long periods, the basic sentiment of all genuine Marxist-Leninists has always been and always will be to get together and unite to advance the proletarian cause. Today many of these NEW CENTERS ARE STANDING UP TO FURTHER OVERTHROW REVISIONISM AND REACTIONARY SECTARIANISM AND SPLITTISM by DARING TO UNITE WITH ONE ANOTHER ON THE BASIS OF MARXISM-LENINISM. This is the significance of the preparatory committee meeting and the CALL FOR A CONFERENCE OF NORTH AMERICAN MARXIST-LENINISTS, and this is the trend which is ushering in an ENTIRELY NEW AND HIGHER STAGE OF REVOLUTION.
Some comrades do not quite grasp this ENTIRELY NEW AND HIGHER STAGE OF REVOLUTION. In other words, these comrades do not grasp the significance of the ACWM (ML), the Association of Communist Workers, the Communist League, Red Collective and Red Star Cadres STANDING UP TO OVERTHROW REACTIONARY SECTARIANISM AND SPLITTISM and UNITING ON THE BASIS OF MRXISM-LENINISM. These comrades are thinking that because unity is the "new trend" some God or some bourgeois is going to magically unite the Marxist-Leninist forces and bestow on the American working class a revolutionary Communist Party. Comrades, all our experience teaches us that the bourgeois1 Gods and their revisionist henchmen are intent on dividing the people and wrecking the Party. Comrades, if the main trend of unity is to develope and flourish IT IS UP TO PEOPLE RIGHT HERE IN THIS WORLD to suppress the counter-revolutionary counter-current of disunity. Comrades, let us take up the example of the example of the preparatory committee meeting and the NEW SPIRIT OF UNITY AMONGST THE MARXIST-LENINISTS and walk over to all serious Marxist-Leninists and revolutionaries and call upon them and actively work with them to OVERTHROW REACTIONARY SECTARIANISM AND SPLITTISM and to UNITE ON THE BASIS OF MARXISM-LENINISM.
COMRADES: IT IS ONLY REVISIONISTS AND BOURGEOISES WHO CLAIM TO HAVE A MONOPOLY ON HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE AND ON MARXISM-LENINISM.
Let us resolutely set about the great task of LEARNING FROM THE HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE OF OTHER GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS.
COMRADES: THE MASSES AND MASSES ALONE ARE THE MAKERS OF WORLD HISTORY. Let us popularize the CALL FOR A CONFERENCE OF NORTH AMERICAN MRXIST-LENINISTS and explain the Marxist-Leninist political line amongst the masses even more intently than ever before. Let us work hard to create material conditions for the CONFERENCE by bringing about a NEW STORM OF DISCUSSION OF MRXIST- LENINIST POLITICS right amongst the masses.
Some comrades ask "What about differences amongst the Marxist-Leninists?" Our attitude towards differences is first of all unity amongst the genuine Marxist-Leninists is primary and secondly that differences are bound to exist as a reflection of different experience as well as the class contradictions which exist in society and this is a very good thing. Therefore we say, let us use our differences for the purpose of strengthening our unity, strengthening the proletarian line and building the proletarian party. We will never use differences to split or undermine the genuine Marxist-Leninist forces. We say: USING DIFFERENCES FOR THE PURPOSE OF STRENGTHENING THE MARXIST-LENINIST FORCES IS JUST FINE! For our part we will always fight for UNITY ON THE BASIS OF THE MARXIST- LENINIST POLITICAL LINE OF CONSTANT OPPOSITION TO AND RESOLUTE STRUGGLE AGAINST MONOPOLY CAPITALISM AND FASCISM ON ALL FRONTS. COMRADES: in the U.S. today, the millions upon millions of modern proletarian are stirring and entering directly into the struggle for the overthrow of monopoly capitalism and fascism. Let us never forget the dark ages of the '50's and '60's of NO WAY OUT because of no Communist Party. Let us sum up and learn from our struggles. LET ALL THE MARXIST- LENINISTS BRING FORWARD THEIR HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE IN BUILDING THE PARTY AND SERVING THE REVOLUTIONARY MASSES. LET US DEVELOP THE TREND OF UNITY AMONGST THE MARXIST-LENINISTS FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF BUILDING THE PARTY TO SERVE THE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF PROLETARIANS.
COMRADES: a Marxist-Leninist can have no interest other than serving the working class and building the Party. LET NO ORGANIZATION OR INDIVIDUAL CLAIM MORE FAME THAN ANOTHER. OUR FAME IS APPLYING MARXISM-LENINISM MAO TSETUNG THOUGHT IN OUR OWN CONCRETE CONDITIONS.
LET ALL MARXIST-LENINISTS UNITE TO BUILD THE GENUINE REVOLUTIONARY PARTY WHICH IS SO MUCH LONGED FOR BY THE MASSES!
LET THE NEW SPIRIT OF UNITY AMONGST THE MARXIST-LENINISTS INSPIRE THE WHOLE WORKING CLASS AND PEOPLE!
LONG LIVE THE DECISIONS OF THE PREPARATORY COMMITTEE MEETING!
ORGANIZE THE CONFERENCE OF NORTH AMERICAN MARXIST-LENINISTS!
[Photo: Over 350 Marxist-Leninists and close supporters attended the final rally of the conference where the call for a Conference of North American Marxist-Leninists was released amid tremendous revolutionary applause.]
[Box: A Quotation Prom Chairman Mao--IT IS ONLY THROUGH THE UNITY OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY THAT THE UNITY OF THE WHOLE CLASS AND THE WHOLE NATION CAN BE ACHIEVED, AND IT IS ONLY THROUGH THE UNITY OF THE WHOLE CLASS AND THE WHOLE NATION THAT THE ENEMY CAN BE DEFEATED....]