#Revolutionary Maoist Coalition

[themassespress]

Speeches from the Borikén Liberation Front's Grito de Lares Rally

By the Boriken Liberation Front, Juventud Unida por la Independencia, the Re-Build Collective, Behind Enemy Lines, and the Revolutionary Maoist Coalition Opening – Boriken Liberation Front – Comrade LubangalaBoriken Liberation Front – Comrade OpheliaJuventud Unida por la Independencia (JUPI) – CocoRe-Build CollectiveBehind Enemy Lines – JackieRevolutionary Maoist Coalition – Comrade…

[revolutionarymaoistschicago]

Statement on the Split in AF3IRM

Originally posted February 7, 2023

News has recently surfaced regarding a split in the organization known as AF3IRM. We will not go into the details of this split here, as the comrades directly involved have already published their own principled criticism of AF3IRM and summation of the issues leading up to the split (find their statement here: https://proletarianfeminist.medium.com/our-split-from-af3irm-shedding-light-on-our-issues-to-encourage-our-growth-towards-a-real-76cd1bcae395). Since the initial statement was published on February 6th, the number of signatories has only continued to grow, sitting at 48 at the time of our writing this article. 

At this time, the Chicago Chapter of the Revolutionary Maoist Coalition wants to extend our unconditional solidarity and support to the brave comrades who have broken with the liberal leadership of AF3IRM. Building a revolutionary women’s movement that is 1) free from both male-chauvinism as well as bourgeois liberal feminism, and 2) based in proletarian feminism, anti-imperialism, national liberation, and scientific socialism is one of the most pressing tasks of our movement today. We applaud the bravery and revolutionary discipline exhibited by the comrades who are now working to forge their own path forward in accomplishing this goal. Let it be known that you are not alone, and that we in RMC – Chicago are happy to aid in this work in any way possible. 

Moreover, we formally denounce the actions of AF3IRM leadership not only for the liberal, pro-imperialist, anti-democratic tendencies which led to the split, but also for the manipulation and misinformation — described by one former-member that left during the split as “psychological warfare” — employed by them in the wake of the split. Those who remain in leadership have audaciously claimed that only two members of AF3IRM have left, denied the existence of the split, and claimed that social media pages formerly affiliated with AF3IRM which have posted about the split have simply been hacked. This should be seen for what it is: utter cowardice. It exhibits nothing else other than a fear of accountability; a fear of ideological struggle and criticism; a fear of the truth. 

We wish all 48 signatories of the document shedding light on the split the best of luck in continuing their struggle for a revolutionary proletarian feminist line. You comrades are justified, brave, and supported by revolutionary women and gender-oppressed people everywhere. 

Down with imperialist “feminism”! Proletarian feminism forever!  Long live the women’s struggle!  Long live the international proletariat! 

Signed,  Executive Committee Revolutionary Maoist Coalition – Chicago

[ultrajaphunter]

Kamala Harris has *extensive* communist ties. Friends, I have conducted painstaking research into Kamala Harris, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee. My findings reveal that Kamala Harris has extensive communist ties. As a political commentator, I have written numerous articles about Kamala Harris, detailing her activities when she was previously a presidential and vice presidential candidate. The evidence is clear: Kamala Harris is deeply connected to communist ideologies and individuals. From her parents' involvement in a group that admired Communist Leaders like Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, to her relationship with Willie Brown, a communist sympathizer, and her mentorship of individuals linked to Maoist communist groups, Kamala Harris's background is deeply concerning. Kamala Harris was supported by Steve Phillips, a former Marxist-Leninist and member of the pro-Chinese communist group League of Revolutionary Struggle. Philips married into the wealthy Sandler family, using his connections and wealth to finance and support Harris's political career, just as he did for Barack Obama, Cory Booker, Stacey Abrams and others. Furthermore, her political career has been supported by individuals with communist affiliations, including her current chief of staff and her husband, who works for a law firm with extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Kamala Harris's communist ties cannot be ignored. It is crucial that the American people are aware of the true nature of the presumed Democratic presidential nominee. The question is this: "What kind of America do we want to leave for future generations?" Stay informed, stay vigilant. The future of America is at stake. More here: https://centerforsecuritypolicy.org/trevor-loudon-who-are-kamala-harriss-radical-marxists-associates/… https://theepochtimes.com/opinion/why-is-no-one-except-the-president-calling-out-kamala-harriss-communist-ties-3538284… Also: https://trevorloudon.com/2020/10/why-is-no-one-except-the-president-calling-out-kamala-harris-communist-ties/… https://theepochtimes.com/opinion/the-rainbow-coalition-re-visited-why-kamala-harris-will-be-the-democratic-presidential-nominee-3027856

Discover the hidden truths about Kamala Harris' background and rise to power in my new book, "Kamala Harris' Communist Roots." Delve into the details of her family, allies, and supporters. Get an autographed copy when you pre-order now at http://TrevorLoudon.com! #KamalaHarris #CommunistRoots #NewBookAlert

[zhabe]

curious your thoughts on the org af3irm, considering you post esparanza’s essays? I was in the process of joining af3irm but quit after I learned about their transmisogyny + denial of transness/womanhood towards former trans members who criticized them (among other things). after this I have become pretty critical of af3irm’s stances because I’m seeing flaws in their arguments. I’m still learning though. wondering what you think of them

I didn’t follow them for long because I started learning about proletarian/marxist feminism shortly before they had a major split. I think they had some good ideological positions and published some strong pieces, but ultimately I can’t stand behind an organization who harbors sexual predators in higher ranks while marketing themselves as an organization opposed to sexual exploitation. I view this as a manifestation of principled organizers struggling within their liberal feminist organization.

Ultimately, I was unaware of any transmisogyny because I didn’t really know about them before their split. Feel free to send me any resources you might have regarding that, if you’d like. Here’s what Esperanza (and an org I work with called RMC) originally posted about the split: 1 2 3

If you’re interested in joining a revolutionary feminist organization, I’d consider checking out Esperanza’s new org: Half the Sky, or any communist organization that has a strong proletarian feminist ideological line and opposes transmisogyny/male chauvinism etc, like RMC (Revolutionary Maoist Coalition).

[thozhar]

Long before the entrenchment of Tamil nationalism as a political force and the cultural expression of the Tamils in the 1950s, Marxism and left wing politics had enjoyed widespread  popularity among the Sri Lankan literati, dating from the ’30s. The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) was formed in 1935. Owing to ideological differences, a breakaway group, the United Socialist Party was formed in 1940 and it was renamed the Communist Party of Ceylon in 1943. There was a strong left political and cultural tradition among the Tamils from the late 1930s. A. Vaithialingam, P. Kandiah, M. Karthikesan and N. Shanmugathasan were some of the founders of the communist movement inSri Lankaand among the Tamils. The impact of Marxist ideology on Sri Lankan Tamil literature can be seen from the late 1940s. A.N. Kandasamy and K. Ganesh were the pioneers of progressive writing in Tamil. The Progressive Writers’ Association was formed in 1946 on the initiative of K. Ganesh and P. Ramanathan and it was reactivated in 1954. Ilankeeran, S. Ganesalingam, K. Daniel, Dominic Jeeva, N. K. Ragunathan and Neervai Ponnaiyan were the prominent writers who wrote fiction in the ’50s and ‘60s on the themes of class and caste contradictions from an avowedly Marxist perspective. There was an important change in the political content of Sri Lankan Tamil poetry during the 1960s and 1970s. Marxist or Socialist ideals were in the foreground of the literary activities in Tamil during this period owing to the change in the political climate in the country. Marxism and Maoism were playing a prominent role in the post-colonialThird Worldduring this period, in the struggle against imperialism and its local allies.Sri Lankawas not an exception to this political trend. In the ’60s, the left parties that chose the parliamentary path to socialism joined the major Sinhala nationalist party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to form a coalition, and this came to power in 1970. The numerically minority Maoist groups which rejected the parliamentary path to socialism adopted Mao’s concept of New Democracy and propagated a revolutionary path to achieve socialism through uniting workers and peasants across ethnic boundaries. It was during this period that thousands of Sinhala youth, mainly from the rural poor in Sri Lanka, took up arms to topple the government, many sacrificing their lives for their revolutionary idealism. Most of the writers and poets were under the influence of socialist ideals in varying degrees and aligned with or were sympathetic to the left movements. They identified themselves as progressive writers. The Sri Lanka Progressive Writers’ Association played a leading role in propagating Marxist ideals in Tamil literature. They believed in social equity, ethnic integration and national unity. They also firmly believed that socialism was the only solution to the ethnic conflict. Social issues such as caste oppression, class contradiction and economic exploitation were some of the main themes in Tamil fiction and poetry during this period. Pasupathy, Supaththiran, Puthuvai Ratnathurai, Saarumathi, Shanmugam Sivalingam and S. Sivasegaram were the prominent poets of the communist movement of this period. They thought that the proletariat would unite across ethnic boundaries on the basis of class consciousness and fight for their liberation. The following poem by Puthuvai Ratnathurai is an example of their writing. Podimenike will take up the gun in Matara Kandiah will take up the rod in Mathakal Cassim Lebbe will take up the knife in Nathandi The unwilting philosophy of Karl Marx will guide them The toiling proletariat will reach the heights Definitely, wait and see! Here the personal names Podimenike, Kandiah and Cassim Lebbe symbolize the working class of the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim ethnic groups, respectively, and the poet proclaims that they will join hands to establish the socialist state.

— Ethnic Conflict And Literary Perception: Tamil Poetry In Post-Colonial Sri Lanka

[leviathan-supersystem]

the notion of the vanguard party, if it was ever anything other than a misstep, seems to have outlived it’s usefulness. certainly it has in the west and especially the united states- can you imagine the PSL leading the revolution? no? what about bob avakian? even more absurd?

i mean, can you even conceive of a scenario in which any of the marxist parties in the US who’s trying to be The Vanguard actually does it? no of course not. it’s utterly unthinkable. and their attempts to fill that role of The Vanguard has resulted in nothing but pointless infighting.

and even beyond the context of the united states and imperial core more generally, there’s reason to believe the time has come for rejecting Vanguardism- look at the development of People’s Multiparty Democracy by the Communist Party of Nepal- while we certainly can and should reject the reformist path they’ve taken, their success in showing the potential in moving Leninism beyond vaguardism shouldn’t be ignored, and could easily be applied in a revolutionary scenario- forming not a vanguard party but rather a revolutionary multi-party revolutionary coalition between multiple communist parties, including a wide range of marxist and other communist tendencies.

interplay between different parties within the broader coalition will allow for the coalition to be more dynamic and more capable of evolution and responding to changes in condition than a one-party vanguard could hope to be, while also diffusing intra-leftist conflicts into the electoral system which might otherwise threaten to give counter-revolutionaries an opening to undo the progress made. if Maoists and Hoxhaists and syndicalists and Luxemburgists and whatever other factions want to tear each other apart to determine the nature of a new socialist post-revolutionary society, let them do that in the national assembly and not in the streets.

and going further, the time may have come to look not only beyond vaguardism but beyond the party-form entirely, and perhaps even beyond “tendency”- social movements like Black Lives Matter and gun clubs like the SRA or the Huey P. Newton Gun Club have done way more to play the role that marxist parties like the Black Panther Party played in the past in terms of mobilizing discontent against the racist colonialist capitalist system and establishing networks of armed community self-defense and mutual aid than any of the 5 person ML and MLM splinter groups each desperately struggling against each other for the chance to be the vanguard party.

as things play out, it seems likely that a post-revolutionary future would involve a national assembly in which many people affiliate primarily not with ideologically unified political parties, but rather with ideologically diverse loose affiliation groups like BLM, with these groups overlapping and with many representatives/voters affiliating with multiple groups at once.

the party-form as we knew it isn’t irrelevant, but as conditions evolve it becomes increasingly clear that it simply isn’t going to play the same role it once did, and marxist-leninist parties are going to have to wake up to that reality and start forming revolutionary coalitions with not only other marxist parties but also broader leftist organizations toward the establishment of a revolutionary form of people’s multi-party democracy.

[milkboydotnet]

Originally posted on The People’s Voice

Saturday morning saw an escalation in the proletarian revolutionary housing struggle in California. Homeless families, inspired by the success of Moms4Housing in Oakland after a sharp struggle, reproduced the tactic and seized control of a house in El Sureno. The LA Times reports that they seek to spread the tactic to new properties in the future. This development comes on the heels of orders to self quarantine. Naturally, homeless people cannot self-quarantine, because they have no homes.

“I am a mother of two daughters. I need a home,” said Martha Escudero, 42, who has spent the last 18 months living on couches with friends and family members in neighborhoods across East Los Angeles. “There’s these homes that are vacant and they belong to the community.” Escudero and her family moved into the house with Ruby Gordillo, 33, and Gordillo’s three children. The Gordillos had been living in a small studio in Pico-Union. Joining the two families in the El Sereno home is Benito Flores, 64, a welder who had been living in his van.

Like the Moms 4 Housing group in Oakland, the protesters in L.A. are receiving assistance from the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, an organizing group that’s advocated for state measures to expand rent control and other tenant protections.

As the interview shows, the homeless are, by and large, working class people and semi-proletarians who have been priced out of their historic neighborhoods across the country by so called “urban removal”, but what can more accurately be called “prole removal”. In many cases the neighborhoods are bulldozed and cleared for gentrification and “redevelopment purposes”. This process has been going on for decades, targeting and clearing Black and Brown working class neighborhoods as “slums” and destroying them. Naturally, this leads to large numbers of housing insecure or outright houseless people. In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, this becomes even more a matter of literal life or death.

The property that was rightfully seized by the masses is owned by the State of California. State and local governments routinely buy up or take over large amounts of property and allow them to remain vacant when “redevelopment” plans fall through, which is often. The City of Saint Louis wiped the Black city of Kinloch off the map in this manner:

Neoliberalism had its day in Kinloch in the 1980s. The City of Saint Louis, which owns Lambert-Saint Louis International Airport, literally bought most of the city’s land and razed it to the ground. Generations of work put in by New Afrikan hands were wiped out by bulldozers and wrecking balls for a proposed airport expansion that never came, displacing thousands of people. The vast majority of them ended up in neighboring, formerly colonizer dominated towns such as Florissant, Ferguson, and Berkeley.

This occupation is an example of the Maoist dictum that the masses are fully capable of taking steps for their own well being. They did not ask permission or seek to go through the courts in the beginning – they saw an empty house, and they took it for their well-being. This is the demonstration of what Mao said regarding “the masses being the true heroes, we are often childish and foolish”. While the “Left” engages in positional wrecking warfare against itself, repeats the same old tired arguments, or engages in electoral cretinism, the masses are displaying heroism and courage. This shows from where the revolution comes. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, mutual aid networks are mobilizing or being formed, securing needed hygiene and food supplies, and delivering them to individuals in quarantine. Revolutionary organizations are conducting political education around the causes of this pandemic, the response in countries such as Cuba and Venezuela compared to the United States, and mobilizing the masses around revolutionary proletarian demands that originate from the concrete conditions of the masses themselves. The demands of the FTP movement led by the MCP-OC during this epidemic are:

1.) Eviction and Rent Freeze 2.) Public utility shutoff freeze 3.) Universal paid sick leave 4.) Free testing and treatment 5.) Free food and other necessities for all in quarantine 6.) Immediate release of those being held in jail on cash bond and closing of all courts for the duration of the emergency. Immediate compassionate release for immunocompromised and elderly prisoners in light of their increased risk for contraction and death from COVID-19

We support all direct actions of a housing and material nature and encourage their spread, along with the development of revolutionary coalitions and people’s councils which administer the provision of material support for occupiers, the involvement of people’s self defense organizations such as Coalition of Armed Labor, working in conjunction with legal collectives such as the National Lawyers’ Guild to ensure the legal and physical defense of space seized by the masses, and the development of tactical unity between revolutionary organizations around the slogan “Housing is a Human Right – Don’t Ask For It, Take It!” This is not just the demonstration of proletarian revolutionary principles in practice but the learning of warfare through warfare – these struggles will escalate and spread in the future and it is essential to struggle for revolutionary Communist leadership. These are the struggles that build cadre and we must immerse ourselves in them.

[zsnes]

the virgin democratic socialists of america

organizes primarily with trade unions

refuses maoist thought

"uhh sweden does socialism pretty good i think"

rose emoji people

unable to think of their own movement critically

no advocacy for the autonomy of communities of color and their self defense

too pussy to oppose the capitalist class

conceptualizes white privilege and racialization to avoid organization with communities of color

THE CHAD BLACK PANTHER PARTY

recognizes that racism can exist without capitalism but capitalism cant exist without racism

fully embraces the writing of mao zedong and the revolutionary practices of the bolshevik and chinese revolutions

founded on the principle of self defense and autonomy from a white capitalist system

acknowledges and collaborates with other revolutionary coalitions but also acknowledges that they address problems exclusive to their community that still come from a capitalist system

encourages a transracial working class coaltion to overthrow white hegemony

threatens american capitalism to the point that they were forcibly dismantled

never existed at the same time as twitter but if they did they would probably fuck up reactionaries so badly that they go into shock

understands intersectionality and privilege in a constructive and nuanced way that better allows for a broader coalition of the american working class

[mediarevolt]

Solidarity Statement

As pro-revolutionists committed to cultivating revolution, many often look to coalitions to do the work of collaboration and moving with the oppressed towards revolutionary practice. In actuality, when we work together it's important to not only iron where we agree and have affinity, but where we disagree and where our affinity diverges, where our strategies might actually be counter to one another: i.e. antagonisms. So that we are not surprised in the future, and we don't flatten struggles for the sake of false unity.

In Los Angeles, or more accurately, occupied Tongva land, in regards to the recent call to ban and isolate the Psyco Brigade/las O.V.A.s/La Conxa, and Defend NELA and the less recent decision to kick them out of the Defend Boyle Heights coalition:

There is information conveniently being left out of the conversation by DBH - namely, that the Los Angeles Red Guards and, their front-group project Serve the People, (coalition members of Defend Boyle Heights) were previously banned from the La Conxa space last year 2018 June due to predatory mactivist behavior and recruitment tactics.

The OVA’s/Pscyo Brigade was kicked out from the Defend Boyle Heights coalition after they had started detailing "red flags," or concerning dynamics and behaviors by coalition members: which had resulted in boundaries being set to exclude Red Guards and STP-LA from La Conxa. Just prior to making a presentation on these red flags within the Defend Boyle Heights Coalition, they were kicked out of the coalition for what they call “identity opportunism”. *Essentially, this term describes a tenet of Maoist ideology. Mainly that “identity politics” is seen as a non-politics since it does not build-up to their desired unified Maoist party line. So then, for Maoists “identity opportunists” are those who they conceive as using their identity as a way to push an agenda other than Maoism. A topsy-turvy inversion of the notion of identity as a site of varied oppressions.

Since the call for isolation was released one of the signees has come forward disclosing that they did not consent to signing the statement and actually contradicted the narrative of events set forth in the statement (the O.V.A.’s were not kicked out of an event for death threats). This, and other information, casts serious doubt on the alleged death threats and the credibility of the statement in its entirety.

Consequently the drafters of this statement want to offer some solidarity, counter-narrative and perspective to those being asked to sign onto the ban and enforce isolation of the Psyco Brigade/OVAS.

We remind ourselves of the autonomy and resilience of groups and people free to respond however they desire/need to, defensively or offensively, to predatory recruitment tactics by overt vanguardist organizations. For the purposes of this paper, vanguardist organizations refer to groups who themselves claim vanguardism as a central strategy of their intent, purpose and organizing. Those vanguardist entities which position themselves as the higher authority or specialized professionals in the liberatory movements of oppressed people- the saviors, gatekeepers, proselytizers and managers reproduced in resistance movements.

We support the role of self and communal determination in combating rank opportunism by left-authoritarian organizations working under the cover of coalitions. To be in coalition is to be in collaboration. Coalitions often hold space for multiple affinities with some strong clear principles and boundaries that bring people together for a shared goal or desired outcome.  Some of these left orgs use coalitions as cover to recruit people to their ideology and specifically, their party or organization, and then isolate those who they view as "competition" in the ideological social war when recruitment does not go according to plan. By left-authoritarian we mean those in the broad leftwing who view hierarchy, coercion, state-power, organized authority and policing as a means to an end: sometimes known as authoritarian socialism or communism.

We oppose predatory behavior and macktivism for the purposes of recruitment, gaining information and access to space and communities, resulting in collectives and spaces  feeling infiltrated. Infiltration is not just an overt act from state agents, but tactics used to gain and manipulate information, access and people, by those convinced their own goals outweigh the dynamics it takes to get there (their ends justify their means).  This is not the spirit of collaboration, camaraderie and liberation we seek and spark, which definitely holds within it space for disagreement and rupture. This is symptomatic of an authoritarian tendency in organizing that seeks to control and manipulate instead of empower us to engage in our own liberation.  We do not embrace a false equivalence, or conception of liberal notions of equality, by presuming infiltration is weaponized against all genders the same way, toward the same end, with the same impact.

Ideological divisions exist and have been amplified as the OVAs/Psyco Brigade has developed their commitment to collective autonomy and revolution which leans more toward autonomy, self-organization and a flattening of hierarchies. This cannot be overlooked as a key ideological divide with some of the forces at play within Defend Boyle Heights.

Gender (and race, ability, sexuality, and more) is not a secondary identity to that of the exploited worker /proletariat engaged in class war. We are, of any gender, engaged in class war. We are, as women, as nonbinary folks, as trans and gender nonconforming people, as men, engaged in class war in particular ways that include all of the iterations in which class war shows up in our lives. We will not, as the below quote by Red Guards LA posits, wait until after a theoretical socialist revolution to use subsequent waves of revolution to "collectivize domestic/reproductive labor" to resolve "the contradiction between men and women". The contradiction is truly in the daily enforcement of gender as yet another role and job under capitalism and society that is associated with treatment/mistreatment and produces (and is produced by) bosses, masters, and #theotherPig. We will not attack capitalism without also attacking this society. This is not a distraction from class war, this is an amplification of class war." "After the revolution the socialist construction of the dictatorship of the proletariat with a reconstruction and collectivization of domestic/reproductive labor will initially resolve the contradiction between men and women. Subsequent cultural revolutions can also resolve the more aggressive residue patriarchal ideas that linger on as the dying old ideas of a dying old world."

As a coalition that has repeatedly and openly not only called for violence, but shamed others for not being down for "revolutionary violence" we find their response to these unsubstantiated death threats to be disingenuous and oddly opportunistic ideologically. Threats of death are serious accusations that concern trust, safety and security and should have nothing to do with DBH’s purported qualifications and judgment of the O.V.As as revolutionary or not. In fact, it is common for women in revolutionary movements to be used for their anger and furious organizing efforts until it is no longer convenient or threatens an established order of things. Bash back, which is a hxstoricaly queer, trans, lgbtq, women, femme direct response tactic, has always been a form of communal defense and revolutionary violence. For example, in 2014 Queerpocalypse descended on the Los Angeles Anarchist bookfair flipping tables and posting up outside the event, in a rejection of “inclusivity” models dealing with queer representation in anarchism and leftism. Folks were agitating the space, addressing centuries long antagonisms between default representation politics, hetnormativity in organizing spaces and the reality of struggle and oppression, especially within “anarchist” spaces. Lived experience and agitation sometimes rises to meet and challenge our theoretical revolutionary spaces- this is not identity opportunism. We insist on inviting our whole selves into our movements or they are not our movements; and we refuse for our participation to be reduced to another form in which we are treated as exploitable workers devoid of our actual selves.

Beware the forces you breathe life into. It is one thing to call for a boycott of local businesses or nonprofits and expect automatic compliance.  It is another to apply  the same tactic and strategy on more autonomously self-organized collectives and spaces. We will not fault the OVAs/Psyco Brigade for being who they have always been, women and marginalized genders self-organized toward revolution, and growing into understandings that do not fall in line with left-authoritarian ideologies.

"A lack of accountability to a higher power" is often weaponized against autonomous folks or anarchists in an intent to portray us as independent and unrelated to the communities we organize in. Defend Boyle Heights is not the higher power we are looking to empower to regulate self-organized community efforts that don’t align or fall in line with their ideology or strategy. Are you?

We have seen time and time again: even abusers and misogynists receive the benefit of the doubt of Transformative Justice processes, and it is suspicious to see no commentary or transparency detailing any attempts to resolve this issue or address the underlying root issues being dismissed as “identity opportunism”.  We look to other iterations in Los Angeles in which figureheads, leaders and organizations have fallen under intense, necessary but methodical scrutiny complete with fact-finding, testimony and even tribunals. Even in such cases arising to the occasion of physical violence and abuse in the name of revolution, after evidence, proof and process that had been gathered, the entire organization was not banned or called to disband. It is one thing to dissociate, break coalition, rupture, and another entirely to call for isolation and actively campaign for isolation.

Collective autonomy- collective disposability we oppose the isolation of a radical collective in its entirety due to the actions or threats of a few. This is not accountability, but collective punishment. Even as we recognize the autonomy of each person and the responsibility of our organizing efforts to hold ourselves accountable, to call for such a broad ban and isolation without due diligence and full transparency of the above details regarding coalition member organizations is negligent, amounts to gatekeeping and reminds us of carceral politics that would dispose of community members altogether with no attention to interpersonal hxstories and real-time dynamics.

Further:

We recognize that not all our comrades are familiar with the differences in principles, strategies and tactics between left authoritarian v. more autonomous anti authoritarian organizing within leftist and revolutionary frameworks and communities in general. We caution against dismissing these contradictions as “sectarianism” when there are real time behaviors and interpersonal dynamics in organizing practice that show up according to these lines.

We know these dynamics and contradictions between revolutionist ideologies are not limited to this time and place. We encourage others to detail their “red flags” and how authoritarian leftism is showing up in their communities, at the cost of their autonomous & anti-authoritarian organizing.

DBH takes an openly-Maoist line against identity politics which views any sort of attention to identity, other than one’s class position, as being liberal, revisionist or anti-communist. Those of us drafting this piece come from a variety of identities and understand that our lived experience goes beyond our class-belonging (but also includes it): women are harassed on the streets regardless of class; Black people are subjected to gratuitous violence by the police regardless of income; queer people are coerced into heteronormative lifestyles regardless of their job title and people with disabilities which make the sale of their labor-power difficult still are forced to pay for their own livelihood. To say these identities are inconsequential is not only offensive, it deeply misunderstands the nature of the capitalist society we live in and therefore defaults to /privileges entrenched power systems inextricably interlocked with capitalism.  But DBH calls attention to all this “identity-opportunism.” As though there is any explicitly gained opportunity, and at the expense of the community or liberatory efforts, to being a woman, a Black person, queer, or a person with a disability, or facing the multiplicity of these experiences in this capitalist, hierarchical and authoritarian structured world.

Conclusion: those of us that have drafted this statement are not locked-away in our ivory towers, writing out abstract essays for academic consumption. We’ve been involved in organizing, creating radical propaganda, putting on events, facilitating workshops, hitting the streets and other forms of radical action, solidarity & mutual aid. We write this because we know how destructive this type of Left-Authoritarian organizing is to the goals we have and we must defend each other against these types of attacks whether from the Left or the Right.

- Some Pissed Off 'Los Angeles' Anti-Authoritarians

[themassespress]

Boycott the Election! Build the Revolutionary Movement!

By the Central Organizing Committee of the Revolutionary Maoist Coalition Election season is upon us. Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in a genocide which receives the full and unapologetic support of both major parties. Four years of leadership under Joe Biden failed to secure even the most basic promises made during the Democratic Party’s 2020 campaign as the decrepit dotard has…

[revolutionarymaoistschicago]

Honoring Chairman Jose Maria Sison

The Revolutionary Maoist Coalition has just learned that the great revolutionary leader, Jose Maria Sison (Feb. 8, 1939 – Dec. 16, 2022), has passed away at the age of 83 following a two week confinement in a Utrecht hospital in the Netherlands. 

This tragic news brings great sadness to our hearts, and we extend the sincerest condolence to Sison’s family and comrades in this painful time of mourning. 

Chairman Sison was a prolific writer, revolutionary fighter, and incredible leader in the struggle for proletarian democracy. The loss of his life is felt by all those around the world who share his fight for global emancipation from the brutal capitalist-imperialist machine. 

Comrade Joma Sison was a lifelong fighter of the revolutionary cause in the Philippines. As a youth, he participated in union organization efforts and founded the Student Cultural Association of the University of the Philippines in 1959, from which Kabataang Makabayan would be founded in 1964. These formations organized students and youth around national democracy and Marxism-Leninism. Kabataang Makabayan continues to be a major force of Filipino communist youth today. 

In 1961, comrade Sison joined the old Philippine Communist Party (Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 or PKP-1930) and was appointed as a member of the Youth Bureau and Executive Committee. From these positions, Joma attempted to correct the revisionist political line of the Lava-clique by preparing political reports on the Party’s errors. 

As the old PKP-1930 showed it was unwilling to rectify errors in political line and military strategy, Joma Sison, using the alias of Amado Guerrero, spearheaded the founding of the Communist Party of the Philippines in 1968 under the red banner of Marxism-Leninism Mao Zedong Thought. One year later, he oversaw the formation of the New People’s Army and the initiation of a Protracted People’s War in the Philippines, which continues fighting for new democracy and the liberation of workers and peasants in the country to this day. 

Later, in 1977 he and his wife, Julie, were arrested and exposed to brutal torture by the fascist Marcos dictatorship. Sison would continue providing political leadership to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), New People’s Army (NPA), and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) while incarcerated until his release in 1986, following the collapse of the Marcos dictatorship and the installation of the Aquino regime. 

The revolutionary principles of Sison were not abandoned, or even dampened, by his nearly decade long prison stint. Once released, Sison continued the struggle for socialist democracy by taking on the Aquino regime; exposing it for its corruption and class affiliation to the comprador bourgeois class. The Aquino government responded by exiling Joma in 1987, at which point he made his way to Utrecht, where he remained until his death. 

In the years since his exile, he has continued writing books which are invaluable to the education of Marxist-Leninist-Maoists across the world, and his continued leadership of the CPP, NPA, and NDFP have led to major gains in their fight for national democracy. 

Joma Sison will forever be regarded as one of the greatest revolutionaries of our era. We remember what another great revolutionary, Mao Zedong, once said: to die for the people is weightier than Mount Tai, but to work and die for the fascists is lighter than a feather — comrade Joma’s death is certainly weightier than Mount Tai. We encourage all members of the RMC, and Maoists everywhere, to make an in-depth study of his life and theoretical contributions, which include great works such as: “Organizational Guide and Outline of Reports”, “Rectify Errors and Rebuild the Party​​​​​​​”, Stand For Socialism Against Modern Revisionism, Specific Characteristics of Our People’s War, Basic Principles of Marxism-Leninism: A Primer, Philippine Society and Revolution, Upsurge of People’s Resistance in the Philippines and the World, On the Philosophy of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, and countless others. 

We are confident that the revolutionary forces of the Philippines will carry on the legacy of comrade Sison by continuing their fight against capitalism-imperialism, semi-feudalism, and modern revisionism in order to establish true democracy by means of proletarian revolution. We, too, must carry on this legacy of the great Sison if we are to truly honor his life and convictions. Whether we be in the Philippines, the so-called united states, Peru, Ghana, Puerto Rico, or Palestine; Joma Sison is an inspiration and model for the type of people we must be in order to win our liberation.  

Jose Maria Sison, rest in power!​​ Long live Joma Sison!  Long live the Filipino masses!  Long live People’s War in the Philippines! 

Signed, 

Revolutionary Maoist Coalition – Chicago Revolutionary Maoist Coalition – District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia Revolutionary Maoist Coalition – New York/New Jersey Revolutionary Maoist Coalition – Arkansas

[opedguy]

Blinken Bluffs on Taiwan

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), Nov. 10, 2021.--Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 58, told a New York Times forum today that the U.S. would take “unspecified action” in the event of a Mainland China attack on Taiwan.  Since Former President Jimmy Carter signed the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. committed to supplying Taiwan with defensive and offensive weapons needed to fend off a Chinese attack.  President Joe Biden, 78, created a big stir when he said Oct. 22 that the U.S. would come to the defense of Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.  Taiwan has enjoyed independence from Mainland China since the 1949 Maoist Revolution, when Chiang Kai-Shek led a band of anti-communist counter-revolutionaries to the Island of Formosa with U.S. help.  Since fleeing Communist China, Chinese nationalists in the Republic of China relied heavily on the U.S. to keep Beijing from seizing the island territory.   

           Blinken’s statement today offers nothing new the U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity, not saying exactly what the U.S. would do in the event of a Chinese military invasion.  Chinese President Xi Jinping has stated unequivocally that he considers Taiwan a part of Communist China, the same as Hong Kong.  U.S. and its allies consider Taiwan a different ball of wax, primarily because the Republic of China has been independent of Beijing since 1949.  China only started recently to assert sovereignty over Hong Kong, since the British Crown Colony lost its lease on the territory July 1, 1997.  China has flexed its muscles on a rebellious pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, leading to tensions between Beijing and Washington.  China has certainly cracked down on Hong over the last two years, leaving not much remaining of any pro-democracy opposition.  Taiwan’s island geography keeps it independent.  

           Blinken was asked today what the U.S. would do in the event of a Mainland incursion into Taipei.  Blinken told the New York Times forum that the U.S. would take “unspecified action,” continuing the long policy of strategic ambiguity.  “At the same time, I think it’s fair to say that we’re not alone in this determination to make sure that we preserve peace and stability in that part of the world,” Blinken said, still not saying what the U.S. would do in the way of an action.  Unspecified action today is taken as collective economic sanctions, certainly not joining military coalition to expel Beijing from Taiwan.  “There are many countries, both in the region and beyond, that would se any unilateral action to use force to disrupt the status quo as a significant threat to peace and security, and they too would take action in the event that that happens,” Blinken said, clearly referring to economic sanctions. 

Blinken’s statements come at a time of tense relations with Beijing.  Since Biden accused Beijing of genocide against Muslim Uyghurs in Western China, U.S.-Chinese relations headed south.  Sending Blinken and 44-year-old National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to Anchorage for a summit with China March 18, it didn’t take long for the meeting to deteriorate into name-calling. Since, Xi has shunned Biden, refusing to accept U.S. accusations about committing genocide in Xinjiang Province.  When Xi didn’t show up at Glasgow’s COP26 Climate Summit, Biden openly criticized Beijing for not taking it seriously.  Today’s announcement by Climate Czar John Kerry that Beijing and Washington would work together to reduce methane gas emissions showed the first positive sign in U.S.-Chinese relations.  Beijing has been escalating threats on Taiwan, flying bombing missions over the Taiwan Strait. U.S.-Chinese relations are at such a low point over the deadly novel coronavirus that there’s little the U.S. can do to placate Beijing.

  Biden told his 52-year-old Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to determine the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Beijing can’t keep its story straight, insisting the virus was made in America and exported by the U.S. military to Wuhan, China.  No one on the world stage believes for a second that the U.S. created  the deadly novel coronavirus.  Most believe now that the virus was engineered in a Wuhan Institute of Virology [WIV] lab, with joint efforts between China, the U.S. and foreign scientists.  So when it comes putting U.S.-China diplomacy back on track, there’s little the U.S. can do other stop blaming Beijing.  Today’s best evidence on the origin of the deadly virus points to WIV Chief Virology Shi Zhengli’s bioweaopns lab, not the U.S.

 Finding some common ground with Beijing on climate change, especially methane gas disposal, was a good first step by Kerry, maybe opening up some future doors.  But like so many other points of conflict, China continues to resist international norms in the South China Sea, bullying its neighbors in the Pacific Rim. When Biden announced a nuclear submarine deal with Australia Sept. 16, it infuriated Beijing.  So whatever common ground Kerry found on climate change, it’s small potatoes compared to other issues, including Blinken’s remarks today on Taiwan.  Blinken announced that Biden would hold a virtual summit with Xi, sometime as early as next week. Xi wants Biden to back off on blaming China for the deadly novel coronavirus.  Beyond that, China doesn’t want to hear more about the U.S. defending Hong Kong or Taiwan, both  sore points with Beijing.

 About the Author 

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.  

[bigyack-com]

Jharkhand offers a slice of unique tribal democracy. It has worked for locals | Opinion - analysis

The Jharkhand assembly election highlights a few crucial questions that the state and the nation faces. Will the Bharatiya Janata Party win the polls outright? Or will it be a neck-and-neck fight with the alliance of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress? What are the issues that will swing voters? As multinational and national corporations with their big business, mines and power plants hover over the state, how much will the promise to protect the Adivasi’s access to their jal (water), jangal (forest) and jamin (land) matter? To what extent will the events in faraway places, such as in Kashmir and Ayodhya, influence voters? Or will more immediate issues resonate: Quality education, employment, and a corruption-free regime?It is fair to say that most of the time, political parties disregard the promises they make to the people. Politicians often switch allegiances to opposing parties at the last minute. Parties with diverging ideologies form coalitions. And no matter what they promise, once in power, the old adage that power corrupts rings true. Certain things have indeed changed in Jharkhand. Once, Adivasis would hide in the forest at the mere sight of a State authority. Maoists would issue diktats to boycott elections, which were implemented with ease across the forested hills. Local leaders and their goons stole voting booths to tamper the count. But elections today are much about the power to mobilise maximum resources. Who manages to get the most number of grassroots workers to drive voters to the booth? Who can realise the promise of murga (chicken) and daru (alcohol), Indira Awas , and contracts for building roads, health care centres and schools? The electoral process is said to be the cornerstone of the world’s biggest democracy. But it has also often been about maintaining or gaining power, status, and money as a means to exert elite control over the political process. Perhaps, it is not surprising then that across India, one finds that those involved in electoral politics are also seen by ordinary people as doing “rajneeti”, an impure and immoral world of corruption, illicit activity and ruthlessness.As a long-term researcher of Jharkhand, I find that discussions about democracy in India have been reduced to mere elections. But there is an alternative form of democracy that was central to some of Jharkhand’s tribal communities. And it may contain the seeds of a transformative global process of democracy that allows ordinary people the power to rule the world. It is democracy by sortition — the use of random selection to choose those who govern us. I first saw it in December 2000, less than a month after Jharkhand became a separate state, in the Munda tribe village, where I was staying as a social anthropologist. They were selecting their new pahan and paenbharra, who presided over secular and sacred village matters, for three years. A man with a “light shadow” was blindfolded. He carried a winnowing basket on the edge of a pole, and was possessed by the village spirit, Sarna-mai. Shaking while he walked, as if he was being led by the spirit, he wandered from house to house, before eventually settling at one. He stopped shaking, an indication that Sarna-mai has chosen that house as the next pahan. The process was repeated for the paenbharra. A few years later, I stumbled across another selection in the neighbouring village. There, instead of wandering across the village, a man with a “light shadow” stood blindfolded in the middle of a large circle of stones. Each stone represented a household. Once possessed, the man went around round the circle until Sarna-mai settled at one of the stones: It was the house that will send the next pahan or paenbharra. A random choice, these villages seemed to be practising a form of ancient Athenian democracy — with a tribal twist.I tried tracing the local history of the pahans and paenbharras. Although many complained that the process has become corrupt in some villages, and that women did not seem to serve the roles, I could find no other pattern to who was chosen in these two villages. Instead, I found instances of selected households passing on the responsibility to others if they felt they could not fulfil it.The roles did carry real responsibilities. Apart from propitiating the deities to ensure the village’s safety from droughts, disease and other calamities, the pahan and paenbharra coordinated the villagers to settle their disputes. They had to feed the entire village at least three times a year, and always maintain extra supplies as a social security net for the poor. For that purpose, they were assigned special lands and seven helpers to cultivate it for the duration of their role. In the colonial land settlement records, I found that the Adivasi rebellions had forced the British to recognise the values of these local democratic traditions. Across the 114 villages of that block I stayed in, their records show the method of selecting the local leaders and the lands reserved for the roles.Plato and Aristotle are said to have thought of sortition as more democratic than elections. For hundreds of years, until the French and American revolutions, sortition was considered a fundamental aspect of democracy. Today, numerous books document how sortition might be the most straightforward way to empower ordinary people to participate in and run their polity. They say it is a fair system, because it is inherently egalitarian as it allows everyone an equal chance to lead. As the Jharkhand election is underway, I can’t help wondering whether we’ve got democracy all wrong, and that its future lies in the revolutionary ideals of real democracy — through sortition, as is hidden in the undulating forests of eastern India.Alpa Shah is author of Nightmarch: Among India’s Revolutionary Guerrillas, and associate professor of anthropology, London School of EconomicsThe views expressed are personal Read the full article

[southeastasianists]

For those who have watched the foul-mouthed Filipino’s rise with horror, the presidency of Rodrigo Roa Duterte appears to be little more than the latest in a long line of tin-pot dictators devastating the most vulnerable in their community to shore up their own authority. Since taking office a year ago this month, Duterte has presided over the extrajudicial killings of more than 8,000 men and women supposedly linked to the Philippines’ drug epidemic. But behind this indefensible, blood-soaked veil, the so called Punisher’s first year in office has seen him struggling to reform a stagnant and divided system.  

Perhaps nowhere is the disconnect between the Duterte disparaged by the West and the Duterte beloved by Philippine voters more pronounced than in the international media. The man splashed across the pages of the New York Times bears little resemblance to the one who still holds the approval of nearly eight out of ten Filipinos. According to Aries Arugay, associate professor in political science at the University of the Philippines, neither Duterte nor his supporters care about the censures of the world press.

“He’s not like other Filipino presidents who thought more about their prestige abroad than their prestige at home,” he said. “He doesn’t care what people on the outside think.”

Mark Thompson, director of the Southeast Asia Research Centre at City University of Hong Kong, said that Duterte’s utter disregard for the approval of the Western world has resonated with those in the Philippines who still rankle at the US’ influence over its former colony.

“People have this misleading impression that nationalism is not very important in the Philippines, particularly because of the supposed stronger pro-American view of many Filipinos that shows up in many surveys,” he said. “That’s true to some degree, but it also misses the flipside of US colonial power.”

As the first Philippine president to rise from the nation’s neglected southern region of Mindanao, Duterte’s disdain for US moralising takes on an edge that cannot be dismissed as mere belligerence. Speaking on the eve of last year’s Asean summit in Laos, Duterte hit back at then-US President Barack Obama’s repeated criticism of his anti-drug campaign by recalling the massacre of hundreds of Muslim men, women and children at the hands of US troops in the early years of the 20th century.

“He really captured media attention for his shooting straight from the hip rhetoric, but if you really examine his words, they’re words asserting sovereignty, they’re words asserting that we’re not going to bow down to the US as the Big Brother anymore,” said Bernadette Ellorin, chairperson of the US chapter of Bayan, a Philippines-based left-wing alliance of workers’ organisations. “And to hear a Philippine president say that, even if it’s just words, is unprecedented – and positive.”

In the months that followed, however, Duterte’s proud stance proved to be short-lived. As his overtures toward China failed to win much in the way of material support – and the 2016 US election produced a president less inclined to comment on his allies’ atrocities – Duterte began to take a softer tone with the world powers. When he chaired the 2017 Asean summit, hosted by the Philippines in April, the world was presented with a very different side of the president.

“I saw two different people,” said Ramon Beleno III, a political science professor from Ateneo de Davao University in Duterte’s home city. “In Laos, the president was very aggressive. His words were very strong against both China and the US… But a few months passed, and I think he was able to realise his role as a statesman – that there was no need to cut ties or even distance oneself in order to fully implement his plan for a more independent foreign policy. I saw a more mature Duterte during the Philippines’ Asean chairmanship.”

Perhaps nowhere has this shift been more pronounced than in Duterte’s response to China’s continued efforts to dominate the South China Sea. Despite an early victory for the Philippines in an international tribunal at The Hague, the man who once promised to ride a jet ski to the disputed Spratly islands with a Philippine flag in his hand has since used his country’s chairmanship of the recent Asean Summit to block all mention of China’s ongoing reclamation projects. According to Beleno, it was a move born more from pragmatism than pride.

“If push comes to shove, he wondered what the Philippines can do against the military forces of China,” he said.

Long Road to Peace

Perhaps no issue has been more thoroughly eclipsed by Duterte’s savage war on drugs than his efforts to negotiate peace between the Philippine government and dual insurgencies in the nation’s south –  a Maoist coalition and a Muslim secessionist movement that both turned violent during the reign of dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the late 1960s.

While stressing that Bayan in no way supported Duterte’s unrelenting crackdown on those most vulnerable to the Philippines’ drug epidemic, Ellorin maintained that the one-sided narrative peddled by international media only served to undercut the more nuanced reality of the president’s domestic policy.

“I think the corporate media is crafting a very dangerous and very unbalanced narrative to the international community on the Duterte administration,” she said. “While there has been wall-to-wall coverage and drum-beating on Duterte’s drug war, there has been zero coverage on the peace process that the Duterte administration is responsible for resuming. And that’s something that actually stands to affect, in a positive way, tens of millions of Filipinos who are suffering from poverty and landlessness and joblessness.”

A man trusted by both members of Mindanao’s Muslim Moro community and many of the groups tied to the communists – Duterte was once a student of the founder and leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines, Jose Maria Sison – Duterte’s promise to pursue an end to Asia’s longest-running communist insurgency played a prominent part in his bid for the presidential palace.

Ellorin said that Duterte’s willingness to engage with the long-maligned communists, including a recent statement suggesting that the administration was open to land redistribution as a potential agrarian reform, was unprecedented amongst Philippine presidents.

“What’s being negotiated on the table, these are not major, transformative things – it’s just the ability for peasants to own land and basically to modernise and industrialise agriculture in the Philippines,” she said. “I think these are basic things people want.”

Despite popular support, the president appears to be playing a dangerous game. After 50 years of bitter civil war that has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 Filipinos, both the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Duterte’s beloved police force remain deeply resentful of the president’s ties with the far left. And in a nation that is no stranger to military takeovers, Thompson said Duterte has every reason to be nervous.

“Duterte is taking a risk and he knows that,” he said. “It’s also the reason he spends a lot of time with the military: to make sure they’re on his side.”

According to Ellorin, it is a precarious position for the president so often touted as the Philippines’ strongman.

“Duterte is trying to balance his alliances right now with… anti-imperialist groups as well as being commander-in-chief of a military that is growing more and more disgruntled by his policies – especially in the sense of reopening talks with the revolutionary government,” she said. “That is something that the Armed Forces of the Philippines absolutely despises. For 50 years of a civil war, they’ve been indoctrinated to basically kill rebels without question – and now you’ve got a president saying we need to sit down and talk to them.”

Thompson said that Duterte’s peace process – if successful – could be the one area where the charismatic leader affects real, lasting change during his presidency.

“It’s hard for me to tell whether a deal can actually be made, but certainly Duterte seems very serious about it,” he said. “So one would have to say that the chances of something being settled maybe even this year are probably pretty good.”

Business as usual

Aside from his apparent complicity in the swathe of extrajudicial killings conducted under his presidency, perhaps the most widespread condemnation of Duterte’s first year in office has been that, for all his talk of breaking down the established order, there has been little sign of real institutional change. Apart from a few high-profile dismissals over suspicions of graft, Duterte has done little to follow through on his pledge to weed out corruption in the Manila elite and the institutions that serve it. No anti-corruption body has been formed and, despite the high-profile kidnapping and murder of a South Korean businessman in January at the hands of dirty cops, there have been no signs of reform within the ranks of Philippine law enforcement. According to Arugay, it is this emphasis on Duterte’s personal authority, rather than systemic reform, that has undercut the promises made during the former mayor’s campaign.

“If I’m going to make a criticism over President Duterte, it’s that there is no long-term vision,” he said. “It’s just change in order to improve the welfare of the ordinary worker… He’s not building any institutions – the party is still the old party, just recycled – and he doesn’t look too far into the future. And that increases uncertainty.”

One sector that has embraced Duterte’s apparent unwillingness – or inability – to shake up the status quo has been the Philippines’ flourishing business community. Initially fearful of Duterte’s mercurial temperament, the country’s business leaders welcomed the president’s early decision to reaffirm the economic policies of the departing administration of Benigno Aquino III – as well as a proposal to strip away protectionist clauses within the constitution that restrict foreign ownership of land and local industries.

For those who took to Duterte’s pledge to fight for the wellbeing of ordinary Filipinos, though, the president’s evident policy of ‘business as usual’ has been a heavy blow.

“I think while he in rhetoric has touted sovereignty, his actual economic policies thus far don’t reflect that,” Ellorin said. “He is basically continuing the same neoliberal economic paradigm of the previous administration which, unfortunately, is greater privatisation, liberalisation and deregulation of the economy.”

Perhaps it was this reassurance that Duterte had in mind when he quoted former US President Abraham Lincoln in his inaugural speech, quashing suspicions that the maverick from Mindanao – a self-proclaimed socialist – might shake up more than just the political order.

“From Lincoln I draw this expression,” he said. “‘You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong; you cannot help the poor by discouraging the rich; you cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer; you cannot further the brotherhood by inciting class hatred among men.’”

While the Philippine economy has consistently received praise for being one of the fastest growing in the world, its critics argue that this has come alongside widening income disparity and an ever-growing underclass. For some, Duterte’s capitulation to international corporations has been a bitter betrayal.

“His 20 or so years as the mayor of Davao City meant that Duterte had a lot of policies that were actually popular and pro-people and very beneficial for the rural poor, especially in terms of food assistance to farmers who were hungry.” said Ellorin. “He was actually providing social services that were urgently needed by the people… That was Duterte as the mayor of Davao. Duterte as the president, however, is a different story,” she added.

Despite this criticism, it must be said that Duterte has been willing to fight against the big end of town on occasion. His decision to shut down more than half of the nation’s nickel mines to halt environmental degradation was met with fury by the mining industry. As the world’s largest supplier of nickel ore – China alone imports 97% of its nickel from the Philippines – the decision is expected to have far-reaching implications for the world’s stainless steel production, which relies heavily upon the commodity. But for the Philippines, where the mining industry contributes less than 1% to the domestic economy, it is an environmental hazard they claim they can live without.

Duterte’s struggle to reform the widespread practice of contractualisation in the Philippines’ labour market has proved a tougher fight. One of the would-be president’s more popular campaign promises was to abolish the illegal practice of constantly hiring and re-hiring workers on a contract basis to avoid having to provide mandated paid leave and social security. The Department of Labour and Employment has placed the number of Filipino workers caught in such precarious arrangements at 1.3 million people out of 69.4 million people above the age of 15. Although Duterte has pledged to wipe out the practice by the end of 2017, resistance from the business sector has been fierce.

“If something happens on that front, if he takes a serious step forward on that front, I’ll have to say that maybe he is serious about implementing a social agenda alongside these basically neoliberal economic policies – which have functioned pretty well in terms of growth rates for the last 20 years,” Thompson said. “But his talk about social reforms – to be serious, he’s going to have to take some steps the business sector doesn’t like.”

[ebenpink]

World News Briefs -- April 9, 2019 (EVening Edition) http://bit.ly/2KnYgkK

BBC: Israeli election: Netanyahu and Gantz both claim victory Exit polls in Israel suggest there will be no clear winner in the closely fought general election. The centrist Blue and White alliance of former military chief Benny Gantz was projected to win 36 or 37 seats, with the Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu taking 33 to 36. Both men have claimed victory. Two exit polls predicted that right-wing parties allied to Mr Netanyahu were more likely to be able to form a governing coalition. But a third exit poll predicted that the bloc would be tied with centre-left parties allied to Mr Gantz. Read more ....

MIDDLE EAST

Israeli exit polls show Netanyahu, main rival in tight race. Israel votes in pivotal elections. Polls open in high-stakes election in Israel. Pompeo refuses to back two-state solution after Netanyahu pledge. Bomb attack kills 13 in Syria's Raqa: monitor. Syria joint patrols: Russia and Turkey announce Idlib deal. Iraq seeks to reassure over reservoirs and dam pressures. Erdoğan's AKP party seeks rerun of Istanbul mayoral election. Turkey says US move against Iran Guards creates 'instability'. Iran denounces terrorist designation for military unit as 'vicious move'. Iran hits back at U.S. for blacklist, threatens nuclear development. Iran's MPs don uniform of Revolutionary Guard in protest at US. Germany to join UN monitoring mission in Yemen: reports. Turkish authorities reject Erdogan party's request for full recount.

ASIA

Pompeo agrees Kim Jong Un is a 'tyrant'. U.N. fears as many as 30 Rohingya killed in Myanmar assault. Protesters warn of Chinese 'invasion' of Philippines. India's Modi eyes win in world's biggest election. Kazakhstan's interim president calls snap elections for June. 'Maoist' attack in India's Chhattisgarh kills BJP lawmaker. Landmark Papua New Guinea natural gas deal signed. Hong Kong 'Umbrella Movement' leaders found guilty for role in mass protests. Dalai Lama taken to New Delhi hospital for chest pain.

AFRICA

UN, militia group in deadly C.Africa clashes. UN tells C. Africa to reintegrate rebels. Uganda says arrests made for kidnapping of American tourist. Dozens killed in Nigerian violence flareup. Haftar’s forces continue push into Tripoli as Libya crisis escalates. Libyans flee to Tunisia as fight for Tripoli intensifies. U.N. condemns airstrike on Tripoli airport. Libya: UN urges immediate halt to fighting. Sudan: Security forces crack down on surging anti-Bashir protest. With army appeal, Sudan protesters test Bashir’s ‘coup-proof’ regime. Algeria's parliament confirms Bensalah as interim president. 'Out with system': Algeria protesters reject interim president. Algeria protests: Police use water cannon to disperse demonstrators. Survival in arid eastern Chad depends on struggle for water. Critics urge Trump to address rights concerns during Sisi meeting.

EUROPE

Putin outlines ambitious Arctic expansion program. Germany to agree to Brexit delay but France sets conditions as May arrives in Paris. One-year Brexit delay too long for France: Macron aide. EU to agree another delay but threatens with June 1 Brexit: draft. France and Germany concerned about Polish judiciary. Putin mocks Mueller report: ‘a mountain gave birth to a mouse’. Greek conservative leader eyes EU vote victory, PM post in election by autumn. Romania's ex-leader Iliescu charged over 1989 uprising. Political quarrels disqualify Bosnia from Europe's top body.

AMERICAS

Trump denies he's planning to restart family separations at border. Trump: Court defeat on asylum policy 'unfair to US'. US judge blocks Trump's 'Remain in Mexico' asylum policy. US attorney general ready to release Mueller report 'within a week'. Barr says Mueller report will be released 'within a week'. Barr: Mueller declined to review my letter. Colombia's president target of planned 'terrorist act'. Canada's golden boy Trudeau sinks in polls as scandal takes toll. Canada to reject refugees with claims in other countries. Brazil's Bolsonaro plans new trip to U.S., China and Middle Eastern countries. Inspired by migrant caravans, new wave of Cubans seek U.S. asylum. Trump administration scuttles MLB-Cuba baseball deal. New York measles emergency declared in Brooklyn.

TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR

Man accused of plotting IS-inspired truck attack held without bail. German IS member on trial for war crimes in Munich. Trump sees progress with Egypt on terrorism as he meets Sisi. Four police, three civilians killed in bomb attack in North Sinai: ministry.

ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS

US stocks close lower, ending 8-day win streak for S&P 500. Social media a popular, yet not trusted, news source: poll. World economy facing delicate moment, IMF says. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang braces for EU meeting as Brexit takes up Brussels’ attention. US threatens EU with new tariffs over Airbus subsidies. from War News Updates http://bit.ly/2U7hGK3 via IFTTT

[communistrupture]

A Conversation Between Daphne Lawless and Gregory W., Pt. 1

Kicking off our project of communist reconception, we are engaging with the recent work of Daphne Lawless, a socialist from New Zealand. We are focusing on her analysis of conservative leftism, an idea adapted from Scottish socialist Sam Charles Hamad. This is the first discussion installment.

Gregory W.: In the article, Against Conservative Leftism, you suggested that "21st century revolutionary classes will not look like those of the 1840s or even the 1980s," and that "the left should seek to build on the new social forces and ways of living that neoliberal globalisation has thrown up, to create a post-neoliberal, post-capitalist future."

This part of the article jumped out at me as being particularly important. It seems that the article is peppered with references to new or emerging revolutionary subjects. But I would like for you to elaborate on this point and maybe give some examples that are shaping your thinking.

 Daphne Lawless: Right. During the changes of the last 40 years - the neoliberal/globalization era, or the "post-Fordist production" era, whatever you want to call it - traditional working-class communities and institutions in the advanced capitalist countries have atrophied and dissolved. The social-democratic parties have become hollow shells and the labor unions have become increasingly "professionalized", run along the same lines as NGOs by full-time organisers. BUT: if you still find the Marxian critique of political economy useful, this does not mean there is no more proletariat in the Western countries.

You have a disorganized proletariat of service workers, or what's sometimes called "the precariat"; and then you have a more privileged layer of workers in technology-based industries. Neither of these are going to behave or see the world in the same way as a unionised auto worker of the 1950s. But by Marxist definition they are still proletarian, or in the process of being proletarianised. And you can see emerging radical and reactionary tendencies in both of these groups.

To take the tech workers for example, the "open-source" communities were one prefiguration of how communist labor relations might work. Then you had the brief flowering of Anonymous as a "meme", an idea, a method of organising among technological workers, which took off at more or less the same time as the Arab Spring, Occupy, etc. Of course after the defeat of those radical movements you had the swing to the reactionary sides of those movements - the neo-reactionaries, alt-right, 4chan /pol/ kind of thing.

But one hallmark of what I would call the "conservative left" is the assumption that the radical workers' movements of the 21st century will look like those of the past. You have this tendency towards LARPing, to try to recreate forms from the past. It simply won't work. New forms of capitalist exploitation and oppression require new forms of organisation, and a Left which doesn't keep up with the actual formations crystallising RIGHT NOW is an irrelevant circle-jerk.

Gregory W.: I find this whole aspect of your analysis very compelling.

I’m reminded of the speculative science question, “if we were confronted with alien life, would we recognize it when we see it?” It seems like there’s something similar going on when it comes to recognizing radical political breakthroughs because we’re expecting things to look a certain way.

There has been some promising stuff in the U.S. in recent years with service industry workers organizing and going on strike. That in itself is an example of working class movement, or even of a proletarian subset, which doesn’t fit the conventional mold. Still, it’s on a spectrum with labor struggles that we’re apt to recognize. But there’s stuff that’s even more alien. We may rightly bemoan the fact that there hasn’t been a general strike in the U.S. in a long time (and it’s not even clear what that indicates, given that France has them pretty often and yet things aren’t going so well over there). But in 2016 we had a historic, nation-wide prison strike with solidarity actions in some prisons internationally. What does that mean? The prison system is a huge part of the neoliberal economy in the U.S., arising with the war on drugs and the rollbacks on social guarantees. The vast majority of prisoners were workers in the outside world. In prison, many continue to do low-wage work and on top of that, they are generating value just by being housed, to the benefit of a whole web of corporate and state bureaucracies.

What does it mean that prisoners were able to coordinate such a strike? And you also have to think about the fact that most prisoners will eventually be released, and will likely be employed at low-wage jobs, and/or work in the informal economy. What does it mean if someone who was involved in a nation-wide prison strike now works at Wal-Mart? What insights and skills could that person bring to organizing outside of prison? If I were developing a revolutionary cadre organization, I might want to recruit some of these people, or else connect up with them in some way – talk to them, work in a coalition with them, or whatever.

     Inmate labor at Louisiana State Penitentiary. Photo by Gerald Herbert/AP 

Daphne Lawless: Oh, certainly. Of course the prison-industrial complex in the US is reasonably unique, so I'm loathe to try to talk about it in any detail, but there are similarities in New Zealand - whereas 50% of the prison population in the US is African-American, so 50% of the prison population in NZ is Māori. But from what I gather prison labor is far more widely used in the US - though I don't know in what areas of the economy it is important. The paradox is the more important prison labor becomes, the more potentially powerful labor organising in prisons becomes.

I know that some people from the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist tradition have made organising among prisoners a top priority. I don't know how close you are to that.

As to the service industry workers, yes, we've had great strides forward in this country in that. Basically, the UNITE union was founded by social-democratic political veterans who had been excluded from the neoliberalized Labour Party and their compliant trade-union apparatuses, and started with the goals of (a) rebuilding a base for social democracy; (b) bringing Seattle-era social-movement methods of organisation to unionism. They also scored a coup by recruiting organizers from young communist groups - people motivated from ideology will work harder and sometimes for less pay!

So by those means, UNITE have been effectively able to organise workers at many fast food chains, and other overlooked workers such as security guards, casino staff etc. However, the price for this is a certain institutionalisation, rapprochement with the older unions/Labour Party etc. And the problem with giving committed revolutionaries a "day job" doing labour organising is that you risk turning into an NGO-model, where it becomes all about the young educated radicals (who by virtue of being union organisers are inherently middle-class from a Marxist point of view) as the protagonists rather than the low-paid precarious workers they're organising.

So to some degree, as long as the basic economic structure remain the same, it's "meet the new boss, same as the old boss"  - attempts to REPLACE the old reformist labor structures will lead to becoming SIMILAR structures. You can see this with what happened in Greece - the radical SYRIZA replaced the neoliberal PASOK, at the price of becoming neoliberal themselves. These are the limits of working for reforms within the system - you will get reforms and nothing but.

Gregory W.: First off, I am interested in learning more about organizers who are prioritizing things like prison work (also, immigration as a fault-line)...You bring up a lot of good points. It is interesting to hear about the differences and similarities between New Zealand and the U.S. What you’ve said underscores my overall feeling that we are still in a very difficult period in terms of devising radical strategy, with so many of our previous verdicts turning up short. At the same time, masses of people are on the move and we need to be in the midst of it, learning from these developing struggles. 

End of Pt. 1