First Published: The Call, Vol. 9, No. 32, September 22-October 5, 1980.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
Copyright: This work is in the Public Domain under the Creative Commons Common Deed. You can freely copy, distribute and display this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit the Encyclopedia of Anti-Revisionism On-Line as your source, include the url to this work, and note any of the transcribers, editors & proofreaders above.
We would like to explain why it’s so important that you, our readers, make a financial contribution to The Call at this time. Our paper, formerly a weekly, is threatened with having to retreat beyond a biweekly to a monthly.
First, it’s necessary to be frank about the nature of our financial problems. Inflation is not the only cause of the widening gap between our income and our expenses–expenses that now run thousands of dollars per each biweekly edition of the paper.
Another factor in our financial woes is the fact that our actual income has declined lately. Subscription sales are down, and donations from readers and supporters have decreased.
Why is this the case? We think the decline in funds is tied to the fact that for years the CPML made ultra-leftist errors in its political line in many fields. Policies were advanced that were out of touch with American political realities and with the consciousness of the masses of people in this country.
These ultra-left errors were naturally reflected in The Call’s content and in its use. Examples of this ultra-leftism included a doctrinaire approach in our articles that too often relied on slogans and left rhetoric and failed to advance concrete programs for the revolutionary struggle. Also in The Call’s use, a dogmatic over-reliance on hand-to-hand sales at factory gates to the exclusion of mass subscription work occurred. In the paper’s financial management as well, an ultra-left approach had us spending funds on The Call’s expansion without regard to the actual base of support for the newspaper.
As a byproduct of these mistakes, a decline in reader support and in the use of the newspaper as a revolutionary propagandist and organizer took place. And a continuing problem is that, while many of the old ultra-left policies have been thankfully abandoned, new approaches more in tune with today’s realities have been, perhaps inevitably, slow in coming.
Now, however, the CPML is engaged in an intensive period of self-criticism and reevaluation of its work. Every aspect of the Party’s work–including the role of The Call–is being looked at with an eye towards criticizing past mistakes and making major improvements. This period of reexamination will lead to the CPML’s Second Congress, to be held in coming months. There, new policies and directions will be charted by the Party in the fight for socialism, for peace, and for defense of the people’s rights and living standards.
The Call is playing a vital role in this process. In recent months, the newspaper has featured debates on communist policy in the labor movement and towards increasing danger of war, as well as discussions on election strategy and school desegregation (see articles this issue). Further, CPML chairman Mike Klonsky’s self-critical look at the Party’s first three years was just the first of the sum-ups by Party leaders that have already appeared or will appear in the newspaper.
The Call has also served the cause of communist unity, opening up its pages to the views of other organizations. In addition, conditions have been created for joint practical work by the CPML and other communist organizations as well as for the use of The Call in other groups’ revolutionary work.
Finally, the content and tone of The Call has improved, as shown by the strong vote of confidence given us by respondents to the June 1980 Readers Survey. Of course, as these same readers pointed out, The Call still has a ways to go in making improvements.
Now more than ever, The Call is needed to play a positive role in enhancing communist unity, in providing a forum for the many debates around communist strategy and tactics, and in analyzing the events of the day that demand a response from the revolutionary left and progressive movements.
However, without a fairly immediate increase in funds, The Call may have to retreat to monthly publication until the CPML’s Second Congress. Even quite painful cutbacks in salaries and office costs–and going from weekly to biweekly publication–have not been sufficient to get our income and expenses in line.
We would like to avoid going to monthly publication if we can. We firmly believe that our readers and supporters would be better served by a newspaper published at least twice a month.
We hope you agree.
Thank you.
The Editors