Communists

"He attended the Anti-Imperialist Conference at Brussels, having come straight from mass agitation at the docks in various ports. Within a few days after the Brussels Conference comes the news of his death. He thus died in harness, a good comrade, an energetic fighter—living, working and fighting under the banner of the Communist International. He will not be forgotten, nor will his work cease, for it was a part of the struggle of the working class for freedom."

"Written right across every page of human history is the declaration that no people can be free so long as the private ownership of the means of production and distribution endures."

"They may crush us, but they will never crush our principles; rather will they by crushing us intensify the determination of those who come after us to follow on in our steps, undaunted and courageous until the dawn of the great day when “All shall be better than well.”"

"The working-class, generally, is slowly beginning to realise, the true value of solidarity and are gradually becoming aware of the fact that their interests, whether they be railwaymen, dockers, engineers, or miners, are indissolubly wrapped up with one another, and that they stand or fall as a class."

"The hour is rapidly arriving when every man and woman of our class will have to make a great decision. We shall have to choose whether capitalism with all its attendant miseries and horrors is to remain enthroned here in Britain, or whether we intend to be free indeed. We shall have to choose whether we really believe in the application of the right of self-determination for all nations, or whether, for generations yet to come, we prefer to remain the tools of Imperialism, and the slaves of profit."

"The tragedy of the War is now to be followed by the greater tragedy of peace. The ostensible plea for the War as a struggle for the freedom of small nations now becomes clear as a War of Imperialism. The War for the so-called democratisation of Germany has now turned into a War for the crushing of the rising working class of Europe."

"My recollection is that though the communist group put up a worker, or rather a railway clerk, against him, we were not displeased at his election. We did not regard him as one of us, but we recognised him as one who could be useful. The term was not yet current, or we should have called him a fellow-traveller."

"For nearly twenty of his years in London, he was known as a close supporter of the communists. People change their minds, but Mr. Menon's recent speeches do not suggest that he has changed his. I should guess that be is one of that considerable band of people in important positions in the free world who, though not technically party members, are in fact disciplined communists. Even if this is disputed, it will be agreed that there is something anomalous in a convinced partisan of the aggressor masquerading as a neutral mediator, and contriving so regularly to serve the aggressor's purposes. I hope people will not think I am suffering from a conspiracy mania; after all, Communism is a conspiracy."

"...Class struggle will affect even Marxist theory where the ruling ideas of the ruling class will be unconsciously ( and sometimes consciously) adopted by some Marxists in a manner that sounds Marxist but it at the same time a rejection of the basis of the science, the necessity of class revolution."

"Creativity is thus important but creativity should manifest within the boundaries prescribed by history: that is, a creativity understood according to the strictures of the science. While it might be the case that it is creative and “undogmatic” to theorize in a manner that rejects these boundaries and the supposed strictures demanded by historical materialism, such creativity belongs in the fine arts and is rather useless when it comes to the sciences. At best this kind of creativity can pique the imagination and thus spur scientific thought forward; at worst it leads to muddle-headed para-scientific conjectures."

"In the now-failed socialist societies of Russian and China revisionist trends emerged to eventually reinstate capitalism and the latter revolutionary context waged a valiant struggle in an attempt to defeat this trend: the Cultural Revolution"

"The process of continuity and rupture is internally defined by the process of universality and particularity."

"We need to recognize that Maoism as a concept stands over and above the name of Mao Zedong, just as Marxism and Leninism must stand over the name of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, respectively."

"Despite the Stonewall Rebellion, despite decades where queer persons were targeted by the forces of reaction, the RCP-USA maintained a chauvinist position when it came to this identity that, despite being veiled in revolutionary language, was no different in practice than the position of bourgeois society: gays and lesbians were treated as aberrant, their sexuality dismissed as “bourgeois decadence”, and queer members of the RCP-USA were directed towards bizarre re-education practices that were ultimately the same as fundamentalist Christian anti-gay programs"

"Revisionism is an immanent danger for the revolutionary movement; anti-revisionism is an immanent struggle within this movement so as to constantly redefine the movement’s basis. What is meant by “revision” here is a revision of the basis of Marxist theory, that which makes Marxism properly Marxism: the theory of class struggle. When Marxist theory is altered so as to argue that class struggle is no longer necessary, that class revolution is not the motive force of history and that social change can be brought about by a peaceful co-existence between classes (through rational debates, legal reform movements, etc.) then we find ourselves in a theoretical terrain that is no longer Marxist because it is a terrain that already exists, the terrain of liberalism. We will return to the meaning of “revisionist” itself in a later section; what matters at this point is to understand that an opportunistic rejection of the Marxist theory of class struggle that brands itself with the name “Marxist” is always a possibility with each and every creative adaptation of Marxist theory to particular contexts."

"The moment one speaks of returning to the concept of a revolutionary communist party, and motivates this return with a reclamation of past categories of struggle (i.e. the vanguard, proletariat-bourgeoisie, revisionism and anti-revisionism, revolutionary science), every defense mechanism conditioned by the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the supposed triumph of world capitalism is mobilized to inoculate the reader from ideological contamination."

"Regardless of its mobilization of the name Maoism, it was only a precursor of contemporary Maoism—its skeleton, its DNA—and was ultimately conditioned by the fossil remains of a Leninism that had reached its limit, despite those moments where it yearned for more than Leninist orthodoxy."

"There has been very little understanding amongst the contemporary mainstream left about the history of the name Maoism. Since this mainstream left’s discourse is often determined by anarchist, autonomist, and Trotskyist/post-Trotskyist understandings of history, Maoism is a term attached to a vague understanding of the Chinese Revolution—that is, it is the Marxism practiced by the Chinese Revolution led by the figure of Mao Zedong—and is thus immediately relegated to the past. To speak of “Maoism” is to render oneself more than half-a-century out of date, or worse to enunciate a “Stalinism” with Chinese characteristics. Leaving aside, for the moment, the fact that some of these analyses of Maoism are themselves over-determined by an out-of-date Marxism, there is also the fact that they pass over the anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist period in silence."

"Before 1988 Maoism did not exist. I begin with this counter-intuitive statement in order to clarify the particular theoretical position that is the concern of this book."

"Revisionists believe that the cardinal sin of communism is not opportunism but "infantile ultra-leftism" and, basing themselves on a selective reading of Lenin's analysis of ultra-leftism, will argue that any criticism of revisionist practice (any open demand for a revolutionary politics that produces militant practice) is the very ultra-leftism that threatens the left."

"If anything, Theory of the Subject is a work of Marxist philosophy that contains all of the contradictions reached by Marxism-Leninism, while being, at the same time, aware that these contradictions are contradictions insofar as they point to the necessity of a new rupture in revolutionary science."

"U.S. bombers are now raining death on all Indochina. Chemical defoliants have changed beautiful, lush countryside into a barren wasteland, uninhabitable for generations. Whole rice crops have been wiped out. And the Vietnamese revealed to scientists that defoliants cause severe genetic damage to human beings. A pregnant woman who drinks water which contains defoliant is more likely to have a malformed child than a woman exposed to atomic radiation in Hiroshima. The whole population of 5 Northeastern provinces of South Vietnam is being forcibly relocated to create 60 mile wide free-fire zone for Amerikan bombers. There is open speculation in Washington about using tactical nuclear weapons in this area. This is not a war against the people who are fighting now - it is a war against the future."

"The systematic domination of women is an underpinning of imperialism: under imperialism, the organization and fabric of society - the family, production, reproduction, and all social relations - keep women dependent and powerless. Sexism is the institutionalized and encouraged system of control."

"We attacked the Capitol because it is, along with the White House and the Pentagon, the worldwide symbol of the government which is now attacking Indochina. To millions of people here and in Latin America, Africa and Asia, it is a monument to U.S. domination over the planet. The invaders of Laos will not have peace in this country. Young people here will do everything we can to harass, disrupt and destroy this murderous government. The thousands of people who have begun to protest and fight this new escalation are saying to the world that we will retaliate against Ameriika's crimes. Our actions, our protests and the spirit of our resistance will be welcomed and supported by people all over the world."

"The men who are running this war are a new vicious breed of murderers. Kissinger smilingly referred to Nixon's address as his "End of the World" speech, while Amerika moves closer to war with China."

"Zionism does not represent the Jews. It is a racist ideology based on the claim that "God"chose a people superior to others. It has been consistently used as n alternative to class struggle and socialism for Jews, undermining Jewish progressive and working-class traditions."

"A people's history is a powerful weapon. In the hands of the oppressors, history is twisted and caricatured. In the arsenal of the revolution, it helps us draw the difficult lessons from past struggles and identify the resistance which has always opposed the enemy."

"The truth about the Rosenbergs is just today being understood-another step on the long march toward exposing the crimes of this empire and uncovering the truth about our own past."

"Here is PRAIRIE FIRE, our political ideology- a strategy for anti-imperialism and revolution inside the imperial US. It comes out of our own practice of the last five years and reflects a diversity of experiences. This paper is not the product of one or two people, nor even a small handful of us. Rather PRAIRIE FIRE represents the politics and collective efforts of an organization. It has been the focus of our study groups and our political education."

"Socialism is the total opposite of capitalism/imperialism. It is the rejection of empire and white supremacy. Socialism is the violent overthrow of the bourgeoisie, the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat, and the eradication o the social system based on profit. Socialism means control of the productive forces for the good of the whole community instead of the few who live on hilltops and in mansions. Socialism means priorities based on human need instead of corporate greed. Socialism creates the conditions for a decent and creative quality of life for all."

"Their solution is a democratic secular Palestine that will accommodate all Palestinians: Jews, Moslems and Christians. The Palestinian Liberation Organization is the umbrella organization which coordinates policy of the liberation forces."

"Our organized forces are small, the enemy's forces are huge. We live inside the oppressor nation, particularly suited to urban guerilla warfare. We are strategically situated in the nerve centers of the international empire, where the institutions and symbols of imperial power are concentrated. The cities will be a major battleground, for the overwheliming majority of people live in the cities; the cities are our terrain."

"We live in a whirlwind; nonetheless, time is on the side of the guerillas. Fighting the enemy is urgent, and we have a duty do all we can."

"Once upon a time, in an age long, long ago, determined bands of young people rebelled against the Empire. Embedded within the heart of empire, the belly of the beast, the mother country, young people in North America awakened to a unique responsibility: to refuse to go along with what was being done in our name in Vietnam or in Hattiesburg. Neutrality was not an option. We felt impelled to act, to interrupt, to educate - without knowing what was next, or how history would judge u. One such band was Weather."

"The modern male-run nuclear family, when we tear away the veil of sentimentality, is the basic unit of capitalist society. Capitalism and the modern family matured together historically, feeding each other's development. In the family, women both reproduce the labor force and begin the socialization process of the new generation, which is essential to the productive system and the functioning of society. Women bear the major responsibility for the nurturing, health and education of families. These are treated like personal problems, yet they are necessary tasks, fulfilled at minimal cost and effort to the imperialists."

"PRAIRIE FIRE is written to communist-minded people, independent organizers and anti-imperialists; those who carry the traditions and lessons of the struggles of the last decade, those who join in the struggles of today. PRAIRIE FIRES is written to all sisters and brothers who are engaged in armed struggle against the enemy. It is written to prisoners, women's groups, collectives, study groups, workers' organizing committees, communes, GI organizers, consciousness-raising groups, veterans, community groups and revolutionaries of all kinds; to all who will read, criticize and bring its content to life in practice. It is written as an argument against those who oppose action and hold back the struggle."

"Underground is not the right word it makes it seem too simple, as if there is an easy way to disappear a place to go."

"Revolution is a dialectical process of destruction and creation. In the US, revolution is intimately bound to the process of defeating imperialism around the world. Any conception of socialism defined in national terms, within so extreme and predatory an oppressor nation as the US, is a view that leads in practice to fight for particular privileged interest and is every dangerous ideology. Active combat against empire is the only foundation for socialist revolution in the oppressor nation."

"Last night we blew up the hall of injustice, Marin County Civic Center. We dedicate this act to the prisoners of San Quentin, Soledad and New York, and to all black prisoners of war. Fighting, where there is not place to hide they have turned every prison in Amerika into an advance guerilla post of the war against Pig Amerika. We dedicate it to the heroic prisoners of O Wing and the other inmates of Soledad Prison who retaliated for the murder of three of their leaders y executing two pig guards, and to the incredible courage of the brothers who seized and held the prisons of New York, and who faced the most vicious reprisals with their fist in the air."

"On Saturday, August 21, 1971, George Jackson, black warrior, revolutionary leader, political prisoner, was shot dead by racist forces at San Quentin. Murdered for what he had become: Soledad Brother, soldier of his people, rising up through torment and torture, tyanny and injustice, unwilling to bow or bend to his oppressors. George Jackson died with his eyes fixed clearly on freedom"

"-"There are too many people in the world and not enough food." -No, we said, a few control the world's food. Food as weapon Food as profit."

"We are fighting in many ways. Dope is one of our weapons. The laws against marijuana mean that millions of us are outlows long before we actually split. Guns and grass are united in the youth underground."

"This is a death culture. It beats its children and discards its old people, imprisons its rebels and drinks itself to death. It breeds and educates us to be socially irresponsible, arrogant, ignorant and anti-political. We are the most technologically advanced people in the wold and the most politically and socially backwards."

"The day the COWboys came to town the red bled out from the 'merican flags, poured from windows and swirled thick in the streets for the marching band"

"Stolen wealth - not Yankee ingenuity - is the basis of the tremendous concentration in the US of productive forces - large factories with advanced machinery, elaborate computer systems, highly extended organization, the labor of women and men from many nations - all contributing to an astounding productive capability."

"Monopoly capital/imperialism is an irrational system. It is not organized to meet human needs. It is run by a very small ruling class whole only morality is the morality of the maximum profit. This handful of white men control the enormous concentrations of wealth, the means of production, the government These are the imperialists, the common enemy. Thirty-two percent of the personal wealth in the US is owned by 1.6% of the population. Who res these enemies? of all the imperial dynasties and major thieves of our time, the Rockefeller family stands out: the phenomenal growth of their clan's influence and riches parallels the development of US imperialism."

"We are living in a time when the city around us disssolves into a dragon-shaped land, the other side of the world, another people a history whose scroll unrolls in stylized battles of the orient: two thousand years of war from Mongol invaders driven back by women warriors. In every village there is a house of Tradition There the history of the village is preserved for everyone to see Not in monuments to famous men or markers of the big battles only, but here, this gun brought down a plane THis trap guarded the gate this letter, written by a 10 year old girl who died in the bombing The blood of the past waters our We honor those who went before. The same li fought over many times, the same road, built and destroyed and then rebuilt and again destroyed Read the French battle annals: An Ke, Cu Chi, Route 13 the wrecked shells of transports line those impenetrable roads- carts, wagons, then jeeps and trucks and now the helicoptersanger"

"Sexism, which denies the humanity of women, destroys the humanity of men. Men, too, are understanding that sexism makes them emotionally barren and culturally warped. In response to the challenge of women, many men have begun to make a commitment to struggle against sexism. These allies are a victory of the women's movement. They are an indication of the potential for further alliances with those in struggle and with oppressed people everywhere."

"We are taught that our biology is our destiny. We are conditioned to look and act within narrow confines to fulfill our primary role as sexual partners and reproducers. Distorted and competitive standards of beauty are the surface over a whole system of sexual objectification. We live in an anti-life culture, where women are denied control of our bodies- where sexual repression and hand in hand taboos go hand with prostitution and sexual exploitation. Men are to taught to use women."

"LSD, and grass, like the herbs and cactus and mushrooms of the American Indians and countless civilizations that have existed on this planet, will help us make a future world where it will be possible to live in peace."