What Dedication Means to Us

By Johnathon of the LYC

Since the fall of the Soviet Union the Communist movement faced decline for a time due to defeatist ideas floating around in the left. Nevertheless in recent years we’ve seen an influx of “Marxist” and of the left in general. While this is great on the surface this also has shown itself to have problems which must be addressed. Many of these newly founded communists lack the discipline required in the organization of our movement. Some reason for this range from some having a comfortable “middle” class life, to advocacy on the Internet but lack of real life organization, to ultra leftism and ideas of reaction. Nevertheless it’s important to not down these potential comrades and to educate them to them to the fullest of our ability. In the wise words of comrade Angelo “it’s the job of the younger generation to carry the torch of Marxism-Leninism, to fight for Socialism-Communism”. If we are to do our mission we must educate even the most loosely allies and those who are willing to listen to us. While the problem of Dedication and discipline mostly lays with those who do not align themselves with the revolutionary movement, this problem can even be found within our ranks. For this reason we must fight this problem tooth and nail if we hope to organize a revolutionary Marxist movement.

In recent times I’ve found myself doing the best I could to find potential comrades within my rather small community. As is the usual with small communities it is rather right wing so even finding so much as left leaning is rather rare. With that said I had some luck when I met someone who was interested. After giving him some reading and education and slowly began to be more educated. All seemed well but when I joined the LYC he was rather reluctant to join himself. Some of his concerns were family related but I later came to find out the truth. He had been really close to the online community, talking and debating and that sort of thing. While this is not a terrible thing to and even partaken at times too it slowly became the only “communist” related thing he did, other then reading. While he would pass The Worker with me, that was about it. You’d be hard pressed to find him at any party meetings and doing any work for the party. Getting him to pay dues was a chore and overall is what most would call a “armchair communist”. One thing lead to another and moved and with that moving he simply moved on from his political affiliation. While I will admit his lack of commitment was not the only reason for his departure but make it all the easier. While this was hard on myself it taught me a lot about the current state of the left. As Angelo told me when I first joined “some come to the party looking to be apart of something but as many find they do not find the party life and leave, they come and go”. Age I believe unfortunately plays a huge role in one’s dedication. Young the comrade the more likely they will come and go and a natural state of immaturity. With that said not all younger comrades are this way and to my comrades who are younger you can always be different.

As we have seen in our history both in history of the American Communist movement and in the Soviet Union, that dedication has been shown as an important piece of a vanguard party. If it wasn’t for the dedication of our Russian comrades of Petrograd in 1917 then there would have never been real existing socialism. If it wasn’t for the dedication of our American comrades in 30’s and after the 2nd Red scare then the party would have never grown to levels it did, scaring the American ruining class. So the importance of dedication cannot be understated. If we have any chance to expand the American communist movement then we must learn to be dedicated cadre ourselves.

At this point it must be defined what is communist dedication. Dedication of the Marxist type is dedication to the working class, to the movement, and to carrying the torch of Marxism-Leninism. So what does dedication to the working class mean? Well simply it means going down to the factory, workhouse, store,… etc and organizing the works. Working with the trade unions and workers organizations. Education of the worker in there exploiton and revolutionary theory, and most importantly remembering that we are not separate from the worker and we cannot alienate ourselves. What about the movement? Well this is our ability to give ourselves to the party and to the advancement of our cause. Meaning we must being willing to do what must be done to advance our party and to strengthen our line. We cannot wait for someone to do it for for us. Cadres must be selfless in party work and must follow through with the tasks they have been given or volunteered for. This also means following party line, even if you disagree with it. All comrades are given the chance to voice their opinion on a policy but once it is passed it must be carried out. Finally our great task of carrying the torch of Marxism Leninism. This falls under the other two categories we have talked about but most importantly expand our understanding of Marxism and how to run the party. The younger generation will one day be the leaders of the party and we must be ready for that. This also extends to our daily lives. We are always communist, not only at party meetings but at school, work, home or anywhere else we find ourselves. As Kim Il Sung said ‘’he who takes a dogmatic attitude towards Marxism and foreign experience is not a genuine Marxist. He is a bogus Marxist”. This is our duty and if we fail to achieve it then how can we call ourselves communist?

So why do so many “communist’’ fail to do this? Well as Gus Hall said “those who come to us bring bourgeois baggage” meaning many of those who see the problems in our country typically come from more comfy middle class live compared to the working class. While these people see the issues they are quick to denounce us once anti communist propaganda plays its role. Many have ultra left and anti soviet tendencies, some homophobia. One reason for this problem is that we’ve so far failed to go to the workers and recruit them. The workers more than anyone else know the horrors of capital and it’s important a party of the working class consists of the working class. With that said we can’t just ignore those who have the potential to be help to us. Nevertheless our efforts must be focused on the workers and those who have shown themselves dedicated. Those who come to us must be given solid education in basic Marxism. This task should be given to a comrade who has a solid understanding of Marxism. Along with this is a basic understanding of history to help fight against the propaganda. Giving these comrades more one on one education and help, along with the People’s school and LYC study. We also must not get caught up on those who come and go. We must focus on those who stay and want to help.

We cannot give up now. Imagine if Lenin had given up when he was sent into exile? The hard times are to come but if we are strong enough we will prove ourselves victorious. Socialism is the future of this country and communism is the future of the world but will not be given to us. Conditions are going from bad to worse and when a revolutionary situation is presented to ourselves we must be ready to fight. However most importantly we must carry the torch of Marxism-Leninism.