Although PRRWO talks about linking the situation in Boston to the general decay of imperialism, they fail precisely to do that. Internationally the contention between war and revolution makes its effect felt on the national situation. It is inevitably forcing the bourgeoisie to change its form of class rule, from bourgeois democracy to open, fascist rule. At this point, busing is one of the main weapons the bourgeoisie is using to split the working class and usher in fascism. The essence of busing has gone through a complete transformation since its beginning in the 1950’s – and, as is usually the case with dogmatists and metaphysical materialists, they can never grasp the process of transformation. As part of the Civil Rights movement, which was a response to national oppression and was a movement directed against the bourgeoisie, busing was a revolutionary force in breaking down segregation. In the 1960’s busing became a reactionary diversionary tactic of the bourgeoisie to take the heat out of the black liberation movement. Now, busing is an entirely reactionary tactic directed at the Satire working class, initiated consciously by the bourgeoisie in their desperate struggle to remain afloat. We see the essence of the busing plan in the dialectic between the splitting of the working class by the reformists and liberals who push the plan, and the rise of the fascists, fueling racial hatred encouraged by the plan. It is this fascization process that is so crucial to grasp, for it makes the difference as to whether the bourgeoisie will have a mass base under the fascist rule which they will be forced to impose in the event of a war. And it is equally important to expose and destroy the liberal and reformist misleaders of all stripes (like the OL and NAACP) who are pushing the plan and dividing the working class. Our tasks have to include, but also go beyond, putting forward positive programs to fight for quality education, especially for oppressed nationalities.
But PRRWO thinks the main question in Boston is around democratic rights of oppressed national minorities. They still see the situation as a continuation of the Civil Rights struggle, and oppose the busing plan only because it is forced and undemocratic and because it doesn’t really solve the question of democratic rights of oppressed nationalities and sabotages the struggle of blacks for self-determination. Their narrow nationalism links up with their dogmatism as they focus on the national minorities and say that the problem with the OL’s position is that it really isn’t putting forward the slogan for self-determination in a revolutionary way. They say that white chauvinism and reaction are most dangerous to blacks. But the whole point is that busing concerns more than just the national minorities, though oppressed national minorities are the hardest hit and will suffer the most under fascism. Busing is something that affects the whole multinational working class through the division of the entire multinational working class. PRRWO fails to grasp the dialectics of bourgeois democracy (using liberal reformists to induce the growth of the fascists). They see the fascists as the main danger, as if they developed somewhere outside of nowhere. The point to grasp is that they come from the womb of bourgeois democracy, that they are social props of the bourgeoisie and are one of the main enemies. The bourgeoisie is the enemy no matter what form they use to rule. It is the illusions in bourgeois democracy that are spread by the OL, tailing the reformists, that are paralyzing the working class and setting us up for fascism. PRRWO’s mindless throwing around of slogans memorized from another period and condition, while bypassing the actual development of the situation and present tactics of the bourgeoisie, puts them on the side of the bourgeoisie and narrow nationalist forces to further divide our class. T heir narrow nationalist position and dogmatism forces them to abandon the side of the proletariat and they themselves become an appendage to the fascization process.
Amazing as it seems, with the events in Portugal,the Middle East, and Angola over the past 2 years and the increasing contention of the superpowers that this indicates, and the leadership provided by the CPC, PRRWO continues to refuse to recognize the rapidly rising danger of a new world war. They maintain, as the Chinese first put it in 1972, that revolution is the main trend. The US communist movement developed out of the tremendous upsurge against US imperialism in the 1960’s. That was a period of rising revolution and serious defeats for the ruling class. Whereas we have held the position for over a year that there are “two contending trends” in the world today, war and revolution, it took organizations like OL several months of ridiculing our “opportunist” position before they themselves woke up and “changed” their positions without a whisper of self-criticism. But in typical dogmatist style, PRRWO continues to keep their heads buried in the sand of the 60’s and will not look up out of their books to see the new world situation. For communists that is a criminal act. It is deceiving the people to belittle the danger of world war. The people of the world must get prepared for world war so we can best be able to make revolution from the situation it will create. As the Chinese comrades say, “Either revolution will prevent war, or war will give rise to revolution.” But if we were to follow PRRWO we wouldn’t be prepared to do either.
The principal contradiction in the world is shifting from that between the oppressed nations and imperialism, to that between the imperialist powers. At this time we hold that both the trend of the danger of world war and the trend of revolution are rising – that the contradiction among the superpowers is sharpening so rapidly that as long as imperialism still exists the outbreak of imperialist war is inevitable. This is not to say that the trend of revolution is on the decline, or revolution cannot prevent world war. It can and it is largely dependent on the subjective factor, particularly the building of our party among the proletariat inside United States imperialism and Soviet Social Imperialism. Presently the revolutionary situation is excellent, and is in fact better than any time in the last two decades. The new factor of the strength of the Third World has weakened United States and Soviet Social-Imperialism tremendously. This has created a most favorable condition for the proletariat in these two imperialist countries to overthrow the bourgeoisie. The problem however is that PRRWO’s undialectical, rigid, mechanical outlook is unable to comprehend the other necessary concurrent motion. The wounded tiger and the desperate social-fascist imperialist superpowers also are bound to clash more to shift the brunt of economic crisis on to each other intensified contention over Europe is clear for all to over the backs of the working class.
Contention over Angola and Southern Africa is loud and clear for all to see. This sharpened contradiction can lead to World War any time in the near future. We cannot gauge exactly when the world war might be touched off or exactly over what issue and place. But we are sure that the danger of world war is real and possible in the next decade or two. Communists would rather see that revolution prevent war, for world war will cause a great deal more suffering of the masses. We have to work for proletarian revolution against world war. For that reason we described the immediate period ahead as two contending trends; either revolution will prevent world war or world war will lead to revolution.
Chairman Mao said back in 1972 that the main trend in the world is revolution even though the danger of world war still exists. Now the international situation has further developed. The danger of world war cannot be described as “still exists.” It is clearly rising rapidly. Yes, world war will also lead to revolution, but in that case too, we must be prepared to turn a bad thing into a good thing, to turn a world war into a civil war to overthrow the bourgeoisie. It happened to fascist rule for the bourgeoisie will have to cast away their best shell of bourgeois democracy. The working class will suffer ever greater exploitation and members of the oppressed nationalities will suffer intensified attacks through chauvinist and racist divide-and-rule tactics of the bourgeoisie. Our multinational working class will rise up. But the working class and communists will suffer the greatest attacks. Whichever trend prevails in the immediate period, communists have to be prepared. Though there are great differences in what kind of preparation to make, what kind of policies to implement, there are similarities too. PRRWO, in openly rejecting the warning of the CPC comrades who say that world war is inevitable and peoples of the world have to be prepared, is concretely doing great harm to the proletarian cause in the United States.
Inseparable from the question of world war is the question of fascism. In order to stem the tremendous resistance that will arise from the working class in the event of a new world war the bourgeoisie will be forced to impose fascist rule, not allowing any dissent, ruling by open terror and force. A key question to be confronted is whether or not the bourgeoisie will be able to develop a base among the masses for this fascist rule, and usher in fascism, or will only be able to impose fascist rule from the top. The answer to this question greatly affects our efforts to overthrow fascist rule, turning the situation brought on by world war to revolution. With all the contradictions in the United States, that between the working class and the bourgeoisie, between the oppressed nationalities, women and the bourgeoisie, sharpened by the strain of a war, the question of how strong an ideological base the bourgeoisie has, how strong their fascist base is, is very important. The fascization process led by the liberals with their divisive reforms, pushing pornography (part of fascist degenerate culture) under the guise of free speech, busing, ERA is what creates this mass fascist base. As we have shown in the section on busing, PRRWO has no understanding of this at all.
In words PRRWO recognizes the threat of fascism, but when confronted with the correct explanation of it, how to fight it, and the immediate importance of fighting it they quickly show their colors as dogmatists and claim that we say that fascism is inevitable. This is a complete distortion and shows PRRWO’s lack of strategic conceptions. Fascism is not inevitable – fascist rule can be prevented by revolution. We do hold that the likelihood of world war coming before and giving rise to revolution is greater than the possibility that revolution in the United States will prevent world war. But that is not saying, as PRRWO likes to construe, that we say that fascism inevitably arises from capitalism. Both can be ended by revolution. And the full-blown system of fascism can be prevented if communists correctly understand and prepare to fight. If this is done, the bourgeoisie’s fascist rule imposed as a necessity of a new world war will be far shorter-lived than if we close our eyes to the danger. And closing their eyes is just what PRRWO is doing. They belittle the danger of fascism because of their ahistorical understanding of the world today. They do not recognize the danger of a new world war, and they do not see the bourgeoisie frantically preparing its base for the fascist rule. Here again, dogmatists – just like the revisionists and the right opportunists – show themselves; as a destructive material force as it leaves the people unprepared for struggle.