"We should get our comrades to understand that the twofold basic task of the leading bodies of the Communist Party is to know conditions and to master policy; the former means knowing the world and the latter changing the world." -Mao Zedong, 1941, Reform our Study
A French translation of this article can be found here, provided by Reconstruction Communiste Canada. The following article was submitted … Continue reading Gramsci & Gonzalo: Considerations on Conquering Combat Positions within the Inner Wall of Hegemony – Comrade Kenny Lake
by Comrade Azaad
In the past year, our organization has been working to synthesize its experiences and practice into a series of discussion documents on the question of what exactly it is we are developing in the immediate horizon, and how this relates to revolutionary strategy. Our point of convergence has been dual power.
Here, I would like to review two articles by comrades of Revolutionary Initiative on the question of dual power, and I hope, with humility, that my contribution will be to clarify and explain of few terms and concepts being used Specifically, the basis for my discussion are two articles: the first by Comrade Victor Hampton entitled “Breaking the Illusion of Liberal Democracy and Building ‘Dual Power’ in the Urban Setting” in Vol. 2 (2012) of Uprising; and the second essay is the extension of the said essay by another, Comrade Stella B. in Vol. 3 (2013), entitled “The Institutions and Elements of Working-Class Power”. First of all I want to congratulate our comrades and Revolutionary Initiative for developing further the concept of ‘dual power;. It is a bold break from the stale agit-propaganda and dogmatism of much of the left; and comes out of our important practice over the last half decade or so. Continue reading “Clarification of the Terms on Dual Power”
“Towards the War of Position,” published in mid 2013, was originally intended to be the first part in a two-part … Continue reading Towards the War of Position: Gramsci in Continuity and Rupture with Marxism-Leninism
Gramsci’s Prison Notebooks: Towards a ‘War of Position’ Section IV of Towards the War of Position: Gramsci in Continuity and … Continue reading Gramsci’s Prison Notebooks: Towards a ‘War of Position’
Introduction: It’s Time to Jailbreak Gramsci Section I of Towards the War of Position: Gramsci in Continuity and Rupture with … Continue reading It’s Time to Jailbreak Gramsci
[From Venezuelanalysis.com. See also the response from Atenea Jiménez Lemon of The National Network of Communards here.]
By RACHAEL BOOTHROYD
Caracas, October 23rd 2012 – In a cabinet meeting with his top ministers on Saturday, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez strongly criticised his political team for failing to show commitment to the participatory democratic model currently being proposed by his government and urged them to undertake serious “self-criticism”.
The meeting was the first cabinet meeting to have taken place since the Venezuelan national elections were held on 7 October, in which Chavez won a third presidential term with over 54% of the vote.
During the televised meeting, Chavez made many criticisms of his party, especially with regards to the construction of the country’s communes, which group together communal councils in a given region.
“Where are the communes?” he asked newly appointed Vice-president Nicolas Maduro.
“In (socialist city) Belen, we keep giving houses to people, but you can’t see a commune anywhere. Not even the spirit of the commune, which right now is more important than the commune itself; a communal culture… this is a matter for all of us, this (the communes) are part of the soul of this project,” he said.
Although the Law of the Communes was passed in 2010 and a Ministry of the Communes established, many of the local self-government bodies have not made it past the initial stages of registration. Continue reading “Venezuela’s Chavez to Ministers: Now is the Time for Self-Criticism”
