Dear Comrades,
In the last few weeks, nearly every organization and individual on the “left,” whether they represent the liberal bourgeois line of the RU or OL, terrorism, or reactionary “Black nationalism,” has called for the building of some brand of “Marxist ” party, or else has asked to join the Continuations Committee. Guiding the whole pack is the CPUSA who once again has begun speaking about Marxism-Leninism. The Marxist-Leninists on the Continuations Committees must not be fooled by such a trend, but rather, should understand this motion for what it is – an attempt to confuse the working class and honest Marxist-Leninists from the “left,” and to undermine and split the Marxist-Leninist forces from the inside.
As dialectics teaches us, under certain conditions all things turn into their opposites. Before the Conference of North American Marxist-Leninists, the so called “left” tried to destroy the Marxist-Leninists by isolating us, but could not succeed. After the Conference they tried to destroy us by attacking us, calling us sectarians and Trotskyites, but again failed. Now they are trying to destroy us by asking to join the Continuations Committee in order that they can split us from the inside. Once again we will not allow this to happen.
However, Comrades, to ensure that this doesn’t happen, all Marxist-Leninists represented on the Continuations Committee, both at the national and local level, must immediately discard all liberalism and develop an attitude of militant Bolshevik vigilance, must ruthlessly uphold the political line of Marxism-Leninism as expressed in the Conference resolutions by waging an unremitting struggle against all opportunist and revisionist lines on the Committee, and must fight to uphold the organizational line of the Continuations Committee.
So that there is absolutely no question in the mind of any comrade on the Committee as to what the line is, we once again restate the political and organizational line of the Continuations Committee and direct all comrades to adhere to it.
1. What was the Conference of North American Marxist-Leninists? As the conference resolution on the “Party of A New Type” states, “this meeting was the highest level of theoretical and political discussion amongst the proletariat for over thirty years,” representing a firm base in the most exploited and oppressed sections of the Anglo American proletariat as well as the proletariat from the oppressed nations and regions within the USNA Multi-national State, thus rejecting the slander of the opportunists and the revisionists that the Conference was sectarian. Adhering strictly to the theory of Marxism-Leninism, the Conference drafted resolutions which dealt with the principal questions and tasks facing the revolutionary proletariat of the USNA in their struggle to emancipate themselves from the USNA monopoly capitalist’s rule and to establish the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. These resolutions as printed in Marxist-Leninist Unite! include the following questions: “Party of A New Type,” ”Negro Resolution: Free the Negro Nation,” “Puerto Rico, A Call for Independence,” “Resolution on the Philippines,” “Woman Question,” “Regional Autonomy for the Southwest,” “Youth, Strategy for a YCL,” “Resolution on Native Americans,” “Industrial World Make Every Factory Our Fortress.” These resolutions were voted on by the body and adopted as majority resolutions of the Conference. In addition there was another resolution adopted by the body as a minority position, “The National Question or Racism.” At the conclusion of the Conference “A Call for a Congress” was adopted by the body and a National Continuations Committee was established.
2. What is the National Continuations Committee and what is the political line of the Committee? The National Continuations Committee is that body established by the Conference of North American Marxist-Leninists from among those organizations represented at the Conference. It has only one purpose – to continue the work of the Conference in preparation for the Congress. Therefore, there is only one political line that unites the Committee and directs its work – this is the political line of the Conference as printed in Marxist-Leninists Unite! Support of the resolutions is not a question for debate; positions stated in the resolutions will be voted on finally by the Congress. Marxist-Leninist organizations and individuals who have studied and who support the resolutions can join the Continuations Committee. Once on the Committee, all organizations and individuals must submit to the democratic-centralist discipline of the Committee. Politically, this means that they must further discuss and develop the Conference resolutions as the basis of the Party program, must organize other Marxist-Leninists onto the Committee around Marxist-Leninists Unite!, and must carry out the organizational tasks necessary to convene the Congress. Any position held by any organization or individual which is in opposition to the Conference resolutions must be written up and submitted for discussion to the collective bodies or organ of the Committee – this includes the meetings of the National and local committees and the National Newsletter. No group or individual can go outside the discipline of the collective and organize for their own political line.
3. What does it mean to adhere to the organizational line of the Committee? As stated in former issues of the Newsletter and other communications, the local Committees are directed to:
1. Carry out all those tasks necessary to prepare cadre for the formation of a Multi-National, Marxist-Leninist Party of a Mew Type – disciplined study of theory, securing of factory jobs to lay a basis for the factory-nucleii, struggle against the CPUSA and all forms of revisionism.
2. Use Marxist-Leninists Unite! to consolidate the Committee internally and to organize externally. Use the Newsletter as an internal document for communications and polemics.
3. Set up study groups for the study of the resolutions as the means by which any further groups and individuals will come on the Continuations Committee. Groups can join only after they have been in Continuations Committee study groups.
4. Submit all Congress documents to the National Continuations Committee by July 15 so they can be gotten out to the whole Committee for discussion a month before the Congress.
5. Fulfill the financial requirements of the Committee.
6. Carry out the line on credentials.
7. Send in monthly reports to the national.
8. Take all measures necessary to secure the Congress from attack.
4. What is the Congress? The Congress will be a theoretical and political body of Marxist-Leninists, who represent the theory and quality of Marxism-Leninism, as well as the best elements of the most exploited and oppressed sections of the working class in the USNA, with the authority to form a Multi-National, Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of the working class in the USNA that can develop into the Vanguard Party. “All decisions of the Congress and all the elections it carries out are decisions of the Party and binding on all Party organizations. They cannot be challenged by anyone on any pretext whatever and can be rescinded or amended only by the next Party Congress.” Lenin ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK, p. 10.
There will be no room at the Congress for any factional position. Only the line representing Marxism-Leninism will be allowed.
* * *
The National Continuations Committee wishes to inform you that New Voice is no longer on the NCC. This came about as a result of repeated and comradely struggles with them on the line of Marxism-Leninism. New Voice was persistent in stating that the USNA working class is the most exploited in relationship to the colonies. What does the line of Marxism-Leninism state? Lenin states, “Is the actual condition of the workers in the oppressing nations the same as that of the workers in the oppressed nations from the standpoint of the national problem? Ho, they are not the same. 1. Economically, the difference is that sections of the working; class in the oppressing nations receive crumbs of the super-profits which the bourgeoisie of the oppressing nations obtain by the extra exploitation of the workers in the oppressed nations. Moreover, economic data show that a larger percentage of the workers of the oppressing nations become “skilled workers” than the workers of the oppressed nations, i.e., a larger percentage rise to the position of the labour aristocracy. This is a fact. To a certain degree the workers of the oppressing nation share with their bourgeoisie, in the plunder of the workers (and the masses of the population) of the oppression nations. 2. Politically, the difference is that the workers of the oppressing nations occupy a privileged position in many, spheres of political life compared with the workers of the oppressed nation. 3. Intellectually, or spiritually, the difference is that the workers of the oppressing nations are taught, in school and in everyday life, to regard the workers of the oppressed nations with distain and contempt.”[1] Refusing to adhere to the line of Marxism-Leninism on the question of imperialism, in particular they were put to the task of accept the line or split. They split.
We welcome the split, because it is a good thing. It separates qualitatively different things. We are proletarian internationalists, and the position that the New Voice holds is nationalist and white chauvinist. It is in light of this that we want to stress to comrades that we must get tough in adhering to line. The move against the New Voice is a clear understanding that we want to take only the high quality of Marxism-Leninism to the Congress and purge or split off from the Continuations Committee different qualities around the line. Tighten up comrades and adhere to line! The Congress will be strong if we can rid ourselves of alien elements prior to it. Whereas we do not call for unjust action without cause, we demand strict adherence to line.
[1] Quote from Lenin, SELECTED WORKS, VOL. 5, page 290-291,“Monism and Dualism.”