That was the question posed at a seminar in London this month. The 30th anniversary of the start of the dialogue between the NCP and the RCPB (ML) was appropriately marked by the opening of a discussion that both parties believe needs to be taken throughout the labour movement. NCP leader Andy Brooks, who chaired the meeting at the NCP Centre, welcomed everyone to the seminar at the Sid French library or by video link and the discussion was opened by Michael Chant, the RCPB (ML) leader. The theme was Tasks of the Communists in the Light of the July 2024 General Election, and this is Michael’s contribution to the discussion.
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| Solidarity:Andy Brooks and Michael Chant in 2014 |
We
are taking up these themes as fraternal parties who see the need for
the unity of the communist movement. It seems important to remind
ourselves of this to set the context of such joint initiatives as
this seminar, which is the communist equivalent of modern scientists
presenting seminar papers and opening the way to sorting out the
problems in their field so as to accord with reality.
We
took up this cause in 1994, and so have 30 years of discussion
between NCP and RCPB(ML) under our belt, and our first point of
contact was between myself and Comrade Andy and we have kept our
relations vital since that time. When I spoke at the funeral of Eric
Trevett, who was General Secretary of NCP from 1979 to 1995, and
subsequently its President until his passing in 2014, I mentioned on
behalf of RCPB(ML) that “this work to build anew the communist
movement which had its common roots in the anti-revisionist movement
of the 1970s was our common aspiration, and our two Parties have made
strenuous efforts to make this aspiration a reality”. And in our
message of condolence, we said “our two Parties continue to make
headway in developing our unity, discussing all the questions of the
strategy and tactics which a communist party must adopt in the 21st
century, and beginning to pay attention together to the theoretical
work without which the revolutionary movement cannot take full shape.
To honour Eric’s memory, let us continue to overcome the obstacles
which the bourgeoisie places in the path of building the unity of the
communist and workers’ movement.”
Besides
giving messages on important anniversaries, such as those of the
founding of the NCP, and attending each other’s Congresses and
conferences, we have continued the efforts to make our aspirations a
reality. We have even issued joint statements, such as on the
Anglo-US aggression against Afghanistan, on Kashmir, against war on
Iraq and in support of the Palestinian people, and in 2003 giving the
call for an anti-war government. Particularly we have worked together
in Friends of Korea in building friendship with the DPR Korea. Among
the events which have taken place are the joint seminars On
the Agenda for the Working
Class
in 2014, and What
it means to be a communist—new and revolutionary today in
2022.
In
this last seminar, I opened by saying “taking the topic at face
value, and giving an answer in a nutshell, one could say to be a
communist means seeing the face of the New in the crisis of the Old,
and working for the necessary change, for the transformation of the
Old into the New, with revolutionary sweep.
“Further,
one cannot conceive of being a communist without membership of a
communist party, a modern type of party which mobilises and organises
the people to defend their own interests, collective, individual and
the general interests of society.
“And,
as both propositions imply, the communist party takes up the problems
of the day, whether national or international, with the spirit of
proletarian internationalism, in order to provide solutions and to
advance the progress of society”.
So
this is all by way of introduction and setting the scene on the
independent programme of the working class.
There
are the overall tasks of the communists in this period of the past 30
years, and there is the experience of the communist and workers’
movement in the light of the general election, which is not so
decisive in itself. But we can use it to say, this is a confirmation
of what are the tasks of the communists. We can use it to ask, what
is the call of history that the communists must take up. This, in a
word, is to leave the Old behind, renovate our thinking and continue
to inspire, organise and set the line of march for the working class
as the detachment in Britain of the international communist movement.
When
the tasks of the communist and workers’ movement was addressed in
“Discussion”, in 1994, the document which began the discussions
between our two parties, and which set the tone for this period of
history, it was said:
On
the role of communist parties: While the basic doctrine of communism
remains the same, it is quite clear that the communist movement has a
lot of work to do in terms of elaborating a theory and line based on
the circumstances within which each party finds itself. It has to be
understood that while the communist movement has historically been
guided by the doctrine of communism of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels
in its general form, the working class has always had to work out the
particularities based on the specifics of its own situation. The
entire economic, political and philosophical basis for a new system
has to be elaborated as an integral part of the workers’ movement.
The modern proletariat needs its consciousness and the communist
parties have to be in a position to provide it.
What
kind of party is necessary at this time?
This
question must be answered by keeping as a constant that it will be a
communist party, it will be revolutionary and it will be based on
democratic centralism. The modern feature which will be added in a
demonstrative way is that it will not come to power itself or as the
representative of the working class. It will be the instrument of
bringing the working class into power to lead the people to establish
the broadest possible democracy.
The
sharpest class struggle is taking place on the question of what kind
of democracy and what kind of system should be established in various
countries. Is there a party which can exploit this situation in
favour of the working class and open the path to the progress of the
society?
On
the question of modern definitions on the basis of which solutions to
having fidelity to the relations between humans and humans, and
humans and nature, are to be found: Today the struggle has to be
directed against all the theories of the liberal bourgeoisie, all of
whom are essentially Tories. It has to be directed against those who
want to divert the communist movement and working class movement away
from its task. All parties have to, within their conditions, work
extremely hard to extricate themselves from that narrow-mindedness,
that myopia, which has been imposed as a way of life. They have to
present themselves as having relevance to modern society. There is a
space for communism.
At
this time, unless minds like Marx, so to speak, exist who
revolutionise social science within the present circumstances, who
are travelling on the high road of civilisation, there will be no
revolutionary movement. Such a role belongs at this time to political
parties and not to individuals alone.
In
Britain where the greatest crisis in political theory exists, the
bourgeoisie will not want to see and will not respond to those who
would want to establish a democratic society in modern terms. A
communist party cannot remain aloof from waging the most vigorous
struggle to isolate the bourgeoisie.
When
I appeared at the Undercover Policing Inquiry, along with Kate Hudson
and Lindsey German, I had to explain to the inquiry that a
Marxist-Leninist party had its various fronts of work, that communism
represents the modern high road of civilisation and enlightenment,
and that it was not characterised by the violence and public disorder
with which the capitalist state tries to blacken its name. It is
characterised by the mass line, not the obsession with recruiting
members. Following which the undercover officer who had tried to
infiltrate our Party in the early 1980s was obliged to say that while
undercover he had felt he was out of his depth and spoke as little as
possible for fear he would blow his cover.
Now,
the debasement of politics by the cartel parties puts the need to
raise the level of political discourse on the agenda by workers,
women and youth setting the example themselves. Ways and means must
be facilitated so that the working class and people can speak in
their own name, and, while emphasising that the warmongers and
neo-liberals in this so-called “representative democracy” do not
speak in their name, use this as the transformation to becoming
empowered.
Communists have a duty to call on workers to not
permit the debasement of politics and nor should they drop out in
disgust. Rather, the ruling class must not be given free rein to
commit crimes. This is what happens when they manage to disorient the
working class and people on matters related to the economy,
sovereignty, war and peace or divide them on a racist basis by
blaming immigrants for all the social ills plaguing the capitalist
society and making them targets of attack. Communists emphasise and
organise for the importance of getting together with one's peers to
discuss the challenges the country faces and speaking out in one's
own name on all matters of concern. It has to be said that
illusions about the Labour Party changing the situation in favour of
the people have reduced drastically since the days of Tony Blair. For
working people to get together and give solutions for changing the
direction of the economy and society at all levels is the necessity
at this stage of history.
All of the developments centring
around the July general election show the untenable state of affairs
in the Parliament and the urgent need for democratic renewal – that
working people provide for themselves the occasions and the means to
speak in their own name, make their views known, organise to see that
their demands are met and by empowering themselves provide a
pro-social alternative to cartel parties and the private and
supranational interests they represent. In our view, the political
situation has deteriorated so that these parties are appendages of
the state, rather than mass parties where members set the policy and
programme, and determine the conduct of their own affairs. This is
the meaning of what we refer to as cartel parties, which are wedded
to the arrangements in society whereby the people are marginalised
from political life and institutions. This is the meaning of the
battle of democracy, of fighting for democratic renewal.
It is
true that the results of the July 2024 elections saw a move towards
independent candidates and smaller parties. In this context, it is a
moot point whether an official coalition of small parties or
independent candidates would transform the Commons proceedings in
favour of the people, or would confer an illusory legitimacy on the
party system and not challenge the present party-centric approach to
the conduct of political affairs. The issue is to encourage the
electorate to find new forms in the battle of democracy and encourage
them to participate in setting the political and other agendas, based
on their own experience, transforming the conception of a political
party into one which truly links the electorate with governance, not
simply as voting machines which resolve nothing.
It is also true
that the actions of the working class in fighting for their rights
and interests make a significant difference, and that forces the
cartel parties, notably the Labour Party, to take notice to attempt
to get the workers’ movement onside. But it can also be looked at
the other way, in that the Labour Party programme, historically of
social democracy, but now of a cartel party arm of the state in its
pro-war, pro-business, anti-social outlook and programme, feeds its
way into the workers’ movement. Nevertheless that same workers’
movement is showing evidence of its independent working class stands,
such as the TUC’s stand for Palestine, and the rejection of the
neo-liberal austerity measures.
In our way of thinking, as I
stressed earlier, communists at this time have to heed the call of
history and show imagination in envisioning the line of march, and
calling the working class and people to leave the Old behind. This
means bringing the organising work on a par with the political work
that we take up.
What
brings about wars of destruction, of genocide? What brings about
droughts, climate crises, famines, mass migrations of people escaping
untenable conditions? Who controls the decision-making and who the
decisions benefit are of course key. But this means that it is the
power structures which are characteristic of these crises, not right
or wrong policies as such. It is the human factor/social
consciousness which is decisive, the working people speaking out on
their own behalf, and the task of the communists is to organise to
bring this into play, in terms of the class struggle which is being
waged, the battle for democracy and democratic rights. As we conclude
our document, There
Is A Way Out of the Crisis,
which is included in the first issue of Discussion,
we strive to unite all people in a storm against “the cuts”,
working together with all for the empowerment of the people and for
the creation of a socialist society!
Our
conclusion is that the cutting edge of our work is the fight for an
Anti-War Government. This has only been confirmed with the election
of Starmer who is for further integration into the US/NATO war
machine and virulently pro-Israel and against the resistance which
the government labels as terrorism. This is not to say that we do not
include Labour MPs in campaigns we engage in, particularly in the
anti-war and pro-social movements. But the crucial issue is who makes
the decisions on war and peace. In this respect, the conception of an
Anti-War Government is not simply that within the status quo you have
a government which takes an anti-war stand. It prepares the way for
bringing about a society and state arrangements that embody a modern
democratic personality.We
could sum up our strategic goal in this period as:
For a Socialist
Britain with an Anti-War Government!
