First Published: The Forge, Vol. 3, No. 18, September 22, 1978
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Malcolm and Paul Saba
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At the most recent League meeting commemorating the second anniversary of the death of Chairman Mao Tsetung, many workers were asking questions about the League’s new Study Handbook. They wanted to know what was in it and how to use it. In order to answer these questions, The Forge met with the comrades of the team that was in charge of its publication.
Q: What’s in the study handbook?
A: The handbook contains excerpts from the works of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Mao Tsetung. Its aim is to bring Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought to all workers who are conscious of the historical mission of their class. This science is the result of 130 years of analysis of the workers’ movement. It sums up the principle lessons and thus serves as a guide for workers in all countries in their struggle for revolution.
Up to now, you would have to look in many different books to find all these texts. This was hard and sometimes expensive. The handbook will solve this problem. The texts in the handbook were chosen in such a way as to help workers understand class struggle in Canada, and to help them solve problems in the revolutionary practice of the struggle to overthrow the Canadian bourgeoisie. The handbook includes chapters on the state and the revolution, the struggle against opportunism, the communist party, imperialism and the world situation, the national question, unions, the women’s question, Marxist workstyle, and others. Each chapter contains an introduction explaining the link with the League’s political line. The whole handbook will help the practical work of guiding the Canadian revolution.
Q: How should the handbook be used?
A: The handbook was designed for use in League study groups. These are groups of workers who want to study Marxism-Leninism and the League’s political line, lead the class struggle in their factories and in the country, and fight imperialism and social-imperialism all over the world.
At the end of each chapter or section of the handbook there are questions to guide sympathizers in their individual study.Sympathizers can then discuss the readings in their study groups, raise their questions and discuss those that appear in the handbook.
Through the study of Marxism-Leninism, workers can themselves become leaders and educators of their class and prepare to become members of the League. So we see the handbook as an arm to help its advance in the building of a communist party in Canada.