First Published: The Call, Vol. 5, No. 25, October 25, 1976.
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.
To the Organizing Committee for a Marxist-Leninist Party:
Individual statement of unity from an active “candidate member” of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA.
The building of a new communist party is the most pressing duty of all Marxist-Leninists in the present period. A new party built on Marxist-Leninist principles is a necessity if the working class of the U.S. is to fulfill its historic duty to overthrow capitalism and establish working class rule, the dictatorship of the proletariat–socialism, and the final goal of communism.
The Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) prior to its founding congress in October of 1975 (formerly the Revolutionary Union–RU) had attempted to unite other Marxist-Leninists to form the RCP. This attempt, however, was not built on Marxist-Leninist principles and ended up in failure. Finally the RCP was formed entirely out of the forces that made up the RU. (If this sounds almost word for word like what is in a section of the declaration, “Marxist-Leninists Unite!,” it’s not my fault; it just happens to be the truth.) While declaring itself as the “only communist party around,” the RCP was formed on the basis of a white national chauvinist opportunist line. There are many examples of this bankrupt line:
1. The jobs march rally in Washington, D.C., of 1975: As workers were coming down out of the stands and onto the field in defiance of Humphrey and the AFL-CIO labor hacks, RU was leading the advanced workers back into the stands.
2. The Boston busing struggle: Here the RCP is against democratic rights of Blacks to get a quality education at any school. RCP justifies this by saying “it’s a ploy of the ruling class to divide the working class.” But anybody who lives in Boston knows this to be a lie. In fact the ruling class in Boston has been biggest supporters of the anti-busing movement in that city for the last three years.
3. The July 4 demonstration in Philadelphia: Here their incorrect line is fully exposed. In building for this action in different cities RCP hides their neglect for some of the real demands of the American people, such as self-determination of the Afro-American nation. Instead, they put out slogans like, “We’ve carried the rich for 200 years-let’s get them off our backs!” No talk of socialism whatsoever. A slogan like this could have been put out by the Weathermen, SLA, NWLF for all the difference it makes.
There are many other examples of this deep-seated opportunism, but there is not room in this statement to list them all. Besides this is a statement of unity, a statement of moving forward, not looking back, because the working class needs a party of its own. It needs a party to lead the present struggles of workers and oppressed people for the long term goal of socialist revolution.
The trend in the Marxist-Leninist movement today is unity. Only if we unite our forces, as put forward in the declaration, “Marxist-Leninists Unite!,” will we ever begin the real struggle ahead of making revolution.
MARXIST-LENINISTS UNITE! BUILD A NEW COMMUNIST PARTY!
In struggle for the new party,
R.A.