An essential part of building a revolutionary working class movement to destroy monopoly capitalism and build a society based on scientific socialism is the formation of a new communist party to provide leadership to the working class and its allies. Such a party has to be based on dialectical and historical materialism, as first formulated by Marx and Engels in the 1800’s, and enriched by the theory and practice of later revolutions. The lessons of the Russian and Chinese revolutions must be absorbed, by any new communist party. In recent years, the experiences of Cuba, Guinea-Bissau, and above all, Vietnam, must also be utilized. We in the U.S. must not only be able to understand dialectical and historical materialism in theory, but it is important that we learn to apply this set of ideas to concrete conditions here. Dialectical and historical materialism is not a creed or dogma, but a guide to action that has proven itself correct in practice in revolutionary struggles throughout the world. It is our duty to participate in building a party by studying this set of ideas and applying it to our work, building principled unity with other advanced and progressive forces, disseminating socialist literature and combatting the anti-communist ideology of the bourgeoisie.
Right now in the U.S. there are many groups which are trying to build a new communist party, one which is dedicated to overthrowing the capitalist system, not reforming it. Yet there is little unity amongst these groups. At present, the main problems holding back the creation of a new communist party are dogmatism and sectarianism. Dogmatism means proclaiming that only you are right about everything, and refusing to change your ideas in the face of facts which prove they are wrong. It means that when theory does not conform to objective reality, the dogmatists will cling to their theory no matter what. Sectarianism means refusing to seek unity with other forces who are working for similar goals. It means refusing to work with progressive trade unionists, for example, because trade unionism, no matter how progressive, does not lead by itself to the overthrow of capitalism. It means refusing to join with other groups who are trying to build a communist party because some small part of their ideas disagrees with yours. Sectarianism and dogmatism go hand in hand. Both reflect an arrogance which should be alien to the working class and especially those who seek to lead the working class.