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Convention Discussion: Building the YCL
Submitted by the CP/YCL Collective Over the last three to four years, the Young Communist League has become an organization that is cherished by many young people in our country. The YCL has also contributed to the Party and to the broader movement's work. This is in large part because we have fought for the multi-racial and inclusive gender quality of the YCL, which upholds the YCL's history as a...
Convention Discussion: Thinking about nationalism
Submitted by Kuya Kemet, Baltimore, MD Someone asked the great Kwame Nkrumah what his understanding was of nationalism. His answer was that there are different kinds of nationalism: narrow nationalism, (cultural) nationalism, progressive nationalism and revolutionary nationalism. Unfortunately Kwame did not live to explain himself. That task was left to others such as Dr. Walter Rodney, a great historian and Marxist, to decipher. Narrow nationalism exhibits itself around race, ethnicity...
Convention Discussion: Materialism & the Method of Science
Submitted by Bea Lumpkin, Chicago, IL. I welcome Roberta Wood's discussion of materialism and the need to welcome religious people to the Communist Party. Her article is also an example of using simple, everyday language to express profound ideas. We are making progress in that direction. Now we talk about workers and capitalists instead of proletarians and bourgeoisie. And we don't get upset when progressives talk about saving "middle class...
Convention Discussion: Basic Party Strategy
Submitted by the Program Review Committee. Strategy is based on an in-depth assessment of the objective facts of U.S. political life. It enables us to chart a path from where we are currently to our ultimate goals, or at least to the next few steps in the process. Strategy is not based on the way we wish things would be. It is not based on how we hope things will...
Convention Discussion: Educate the people about democracy
Submitted by David Fields, Fitchburg, WI. The first sentence of the article on democracy in Wikipedia begins "Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens participate equally-either directly or indirectly through elected representatives-in the proposal, development, and creation of laws." Even that description goes beyond what many people seem to believe what democracy is in our nation.To many democracy begins and ends at the ballot box. It...
Convention Discussion: Taking care of the future in the movement of the present
Submitted for discussion by the National Board of the Communist Party The two old bards of the socialist movement wrote in the Communist Manifesto, "The Communists fight for the attainment of the immediate aims, for the enforcement of the momentary interests of the working class; but in the movement of the present, they also represent and take care of the future of that movement." (my italics) Sounds good and seems...
Convention Discussion: The Communist Party & the Young Generation
Young people today are facing enormous challenges. The Great Recession made these already difficult challenges far more severe. Even before the economic downturn, a 3-decade long right-wing assault on the social safety net led to enormous instability among this section of the population.
Convention Discussion: Grassroots clubs for the 21st Century
Submitted by the State Committee, Connecticut Communist Party USA The biggest issue before our 30th national convention is the role and work of the Communist Party USA. Our experience shows that the challenges and opportunities to build our Party in the changing conditions of the new century can be met with mass-style grassroots neighborhood clubs The essence of the Communist Party is to achieve workers' power and a more...
Convention Discussion: Why should I join the Communist Party?
Submitted by Chris Butters, Brooklyn, NY Club "So why should I join the CPUSA?" an activist asked me. Our Brooklyn, New York club was participating in a Democratic Party candidate's electoral campaign that day. I have given various answers over the last several years to such questions (our Party's action orientation, our proud history in the struggle against racism, our important links to the international movement, etc) ...
Convention Discussion: Organizing the Party
We seek and have been working towards building a larger more influential Communist Party. It isabsolutely necessary to heighten class consciousness among working people and other strata to blockthe efforts of the ruling class as promoted by the ultra right today. The ruling class's goal is to bemasters of the world ensuring maximum profits for itself. The outgrowth of obscene profits for capitalistare persistent wars, huge military spending, lack of...