How is a communist party built? Clearly political organizations professing adherence to the principles of Marxism-Leninism cannot simply declare themselves to be the vanguard party of the Canadian proletariat. All Marxist-Leninists in this country have a responsibility to engage in ideological struggle in order to arrive at political and subsequently organizational unity and thus create a single communist party rooted in the proletariat and genuinely representative of its interests.
To advance the struggle for unity among Marxist-Leninists it is necessary to have some understanding of which groups and individuals can be considered part of the Canadian Marxist-Leninist movement. The touchstone of Marxism-Leninism is support for the dictatorship of the proletariat as the vehicle for the building of socialism. There are, however, numerous opportunists who feign support for proletarian dictatorship but do not uphold this principle in practice. To demarcate from such opportunists and from bourgeois ideology in general it is essential to determine a basic application of the principles of Marxism-Leninism to Canada and the world and use this as the definition of the Canadian Marxist-Leninist movement. Initial disagreement with some points in this definition does not necessarily exclude individuals or groups from participating in the struggle to build the party, but continued disagreement well after the points have been fully substantiated would do so. The definition is not static, but will change in accordance with the positions developed through ideological struggle.
The Red Star Collective considers agreement with the following points to represent the general criteria for membership in the communist movement in Canada:
1. Marxism-Leninism is the science of revolution, summed up in the theory and practice of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao Tse-tung. It serves specifically as the ideological stance of the proletariat and its theoretical guide to action in the fight for socialism and communism. Marxist-Leninists must apply and develop the science in the struggle against that which is anti-Marxist, including all forms of bourgeois ideology such as social democracy, revisionism, Trotskyism, anarchism, and bourgeois nationalism. Bourgeois ideology exists even within the communist movement in the form of opportunism and as such must be exposed.
2. The principal task in the Canadian revolution at present is the creation of a Marxist-Leninist party composed of the vanguard of the working class and armed with a program through which to lead the revolutionary struggle.
3. The building of this party involves three interrelated tasks: a) the elaboration of a concrete Marxist-Leninist analysis of Canada and a consequent strategy for revolution, b) the unification of Canadian Marxist-Leninists, and c) the winning of the most advanced elements of the working class to communism with the result that they join in building the party. These three tasks involve ideological struggle within the communist movement and within the working class. They must be undertaken both through struggle over political line and through direct participation in the workers’ movement, so that the validity of communist principles and the necessity of creating a communist party can be practically demonstrated.
4. The Canadian revolution will be accomplished in one stage through the overthrow of bourgeois dictatorship and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat. There are no anti-feudal or national democratic tasks to be completed in Canada. The proletariat is both the leading force and the main force, though it will have stable and unstable allies from other classes.
5. Quebec is a nation with the right to self-determination up to and including the right of secession.
6. Native Indian and Inuit peoples have national rights – primarily for land – that go beyond their basic democratic rights as individuals.
7. Within capitalist society women receive particular exploitation both as cheap labour and as the reproducers of the labour force. This particular exploitation requires particular struggles. These struggles will go on throughout the period of capitalism and will continue into the period of socialism. Communists recognize that the complete emancipation of women can be achieved only to the extent that the working class as a whole is emancipated; conversely, the working class cannot be emancipated without the emancipation of women. Communists also recognize that sexism exists as a contradiction within the working class and its organizations, and must be struggled against.
8. The struggle of the Canadian proletariat for socialism is part of the world-wide struggle against the capitalist system. In the present stage of the imperialist era of capitalism, the Three Worlds Analysis accurately sums up the relationship of forces on a world scale. It is the responsibility of Marxist-Leninists to support the struggles of all peoples of the world and of the countries and nations of the Second and Third Worlds against superpower domination, particularly against the preparations of the US and USSR for a third world war. At the same time, communists must oppose all forms of imperialism.
9. All nations have the right to self-determination. Marxist-Leninists support the struggles of the world’s peoples for national liberation, independence, and socialism.
10. Communists support and defend the socialist countries.
We believe that this definition of the Marxist-Leninist movement provides a starting point from which to develop a clear Marxist-Leninist line, around which the movement can be rallied. It is our conviction that the ten points listed above represent the correct application of Marxist-Leninist principles to the present situation. It follows, therefore, that those who continue to be in fundamental disagreement with any of these points must eventually be excluded from the Marxist-Leninist movement. It must also be recognized that even groups and individuals who are in basic agreement with these points may still hold incorrect, bourgeois positions. This is possible because the ten points listed deal only with the broad parameters of the Marxist-Leninist movement, and do not address themselves to all of the contradictions with which the movement must deal. Bourgeois ideology will exist within the communist movement at all times, reflecting the two-line struggle that continues as long as society remains composed of antagonistic classes. Marxist-Leninists cannot abolish bourgeois lines by decree in the vain hope of preserving revolutionary purity. Rather, they must defeat these lines through ideological and political struggle on the variety of occasions and in the variety of guises in which they appear. Every effort must be made to persuade individuals or groups who fall within the general definition of the communist movement but who have been identified as holding lines which are bourgeois to correct their errors. Only when they become entrenched in their positions in spite of the thorough refutation of their lines should they be expelled.
Through ideological struggle over political line the Marxist-Leninist movement should unite in a pre-party organization, and, when that organization has won the most class conscious section of the proletariat to its program, form the party. There should not be more than one pre-party organization, and there cannot be more than one communist party. Marxism-Leninism is a science requiring communists to act on the basis of fundamental principles which when applied in a given country produce a definite political line. To implement this line Marxist-Leninists must have ideological, political, and organizational unity. There may be differences within the party over how to resolve particular issues, but there cannot be two or more communist parties. In circumstances where this occurs, practice soon distinguishes the genuine Marxist-Leninist party from the non-revolutionary or counterrevolutionary impostors.
How do those within the Marxist-Leninist movement proceed to the creation of a pre-party organization and subsequently the party? As stated in the definition of the Marxist-Leninist movement there are three interrelated tasks in the process: 1) the development of and struggle over ideological and political line, 2) from this struggle the uniting of as many as possible of those within the communist movement in a pre-party organization based on a program, and 3) the winning of politically advanced workers to communism so that they will participate fully in the building of the party. All three tasks must be taken up simultaneously, but the first two are key in the stage leading up to the formation of the pre-party organization, while the third becomes the key in the second stage leading up to the establishment of the party itself.
At present ideological struggle within the communist movement is conducted primarily through the publication of position documents as well as through participation in conferences and discussions with groups and individuals. Where such struggle produces political unity between individuals or groups, organizational unity should follow. Organizational unity, however, should not be pursued at the expense of struggle over political line. While it is not necessary that Marxist-Leninists in Canada each develop their "own" position, it is imperative that they engage in the struggle over existing positions in order to advance the unity of Marxist-Leninists on a principled basis. To subordinate important political differences to a desire for organizational unity as a means of expediting the process of party building only serves to weaken the struggle over political line and creates fictitious unity.
The primacy of ideological struggle in the current stage of party building does not mean that theory takes precedence over practice. All three tasks of party building represent communist practice insofar as they are actions aimed at completing the principal task. The nature of this practice, prior to the creation of the party, is chiefly to develop ideological leadership through ideological struggle, both in the Marxist-Leninist movement and within the working class. After the party is established, communist cadres will be in a position to provide both ideological and organizational leadership through political struggle, developing and leading mass actions. It is always the role of communists to give leadership to mass struggles to the extent possible, but this role will become fully developed only with the formation of the party.
The two-line struggle between bourgeois and proletarian ideology continues throughout Canadian society, including the working class and its mass organizations. Although mass organizations are proletarian in composition, they suffer to a greater or lesser extent from the influence of bourgeois ideology. At present the primary task of Marxist-Leninists in mass organizations and within the working class as a whole is to disseminate propaganda which exposes bourgeois ideology and convinces workers of the validity of the proletarian point of view, in order that they take up the tasks of party building. The demonstration of the correctness of communist principles can be accomplished only through participation in the actual struggles of the working class, not through sitting on the sidelines preaching abstract ideology. Communists must rally workers to become actively engaged in the principal task of party building, but must at the same time assist in strengthening the mass organizations so that the immediate interests of the working class are defended.
In Canada bourgeois influence within the workers’ movement is dominant, mainly because the bourgeoisie is able to use its enormous power to spread its ideology. Through its educational system, its propaganda organs, its courts, and its spokesmen, the bourgeoisie fosters racism, sexism, fatalism and disunity. Within the working class, bourgeois ideology finds its main base in the labour aristocracy – a small section of the proletariat which has been bought off by the capitalist class, primarily through the dispensation of special privileges. The labour aristocracy includes in its ranks not only privileged workers but also some members of the trade union bureaucracies. Another source of bourgeois ideology within the working class is the ruined petit bourgeois elements who have been driven into proletarian occupations through the vicissitudes of monopoly capitalism, but who retain their petit bourgeois aspirations.
To combat bourgeois influence within the working class Marxist-Leninists must provide proletarian ideological leadership, expanding the scope of the mass organizations by linking their specific objectives to a recognition of the necessity of fighting all forms of oppression, and thus developing broader class consciousness and unity. The task is by no means easy. Mass Organizations in capitalist society are never entirely proletarian nor entirely bourgeois in viewpoint, but may take either progressive or reactionary stands on different issues. These organizations may include communists, but even so should not be expected to function as “communist organizations” in the sense of having a Marxist-Leninist basis of unity or of being appendages of a communist party. Marxist-Leninists must recognize this distinction between mass organizations and communist organizations and must adopt a position and style of work which resolve the numerous contradictions among the people in a way that will lead to the victory of proletarian ideology and the proletarian revolution.
Mass organizations in Canada include trade unions, cultural societies of ethnic minorities, international friendship associations, anti-imperialist organizations supporting peoples’ struggles in their homelands, and a variety of committees defending the rights of immigrants, prisoners, the unemployed, homosexuals, and other particularly oppressed groups. There are mass organizations of women, an important area of work for Canadian Marxist-Leninists. Mass organizations of youth, similarly, require attention by communists.
The main mass organizations in Canada are trade unions. The trade union movement in this country is dominated by the American “internationals,” a harmful situation, first in that the "internationals" serve as major carriers of bourgeois ideology, and second in that their US-controlled structure blocks the ability of the Canadian membership to combat this bourgeois influence. For the unions to become weapons of the working class in the struggle for socialism it is imperative that they be under the control of Canadian workers. The development of an all-inclusive democratic Canadian union movement free from foreign control is a condition for success – though not a precondition for struggle – in making the trade unions genuinely serve the interests of the proletariat in this country. The pursuit of this objective, therefore, is an immediate task of Canadian Marxist-Leninists.