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These last months, our small organization has lived a consequent improvement of its contacts, whether through correspondence or directly. For us, in a context of acceleration without precedent that world capitalism's crisis is living, this phenomenon is a clear sign of the renewal of interest for the revolutionary positions which is developing today within the working class as well as a sign of the surge and mobilization of new forces which aim at rejoining the Communist Left.
In this section, we made the choice of publishing 4 exchanges of correspondences significant of this phenomenon :
- the two first - with the Internationalist Communists of Montreal and with comrades from Australia who, both, make a call to the groups and isolated individuals of the Communist Left - raise particularly the fundamental question of the necessary regroupment of the communist forces today, not only from the point of view of the political principles and criteria which have to be their basis, but also from the point of view of its practical realization [the ICM's letters are not translated into English] ;
- the third (with comrade GS) raises the question of the analysis that the communists must make of the present situation. This led us to come back widely on our conception and our method of analysis and of understanding of the situations, in particular of the evolution of the relation of forces between the classes. We think it can present some interest to our readers and to the whole proletarian camp [this text is not translated into English] ;
- finally, an exchange of mails with the comrade AS from the IWG/GIO (North-American organization which is part of the Internationalist Communist Tendency -ex-IBRP) raise the crucial question of the struggle that all the organizations of the Communist Left has the responsibility to lead against the opportunism which infects today, notably the ICC.
We call all the parts of the Communist Left to think and to debate all these questions. The answers we'll give already today, will decide of the role, its nature and its importance, that will play the Communist Left in the future fights of the working class.
Dear comrades,
We are a group of left communist sympathisers in Sydney and Adelaide. We are writing to you to inform you of our desire to begin a series of organised discussions between sympathisers of the Communist Left across Australia. We have personally addressed this appeal to individuals from across the country - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide – and have already heard back from several.
Because we recognise that we are not the possessors of the full and finally discovered communist programme and because as internationalists we recognise the importance of dialogue between revolutionary workers from all parts of the globe, we are also appealing to groups which draw an organic and programmatic heritage to the communist left. We thus formally invite you to contribute to our discussions. We also welcome any material or logistical support you may have to offer us. Given our rather limited means we encourage you to pass this appeal on to any contacts or members which you may have in Australia or the region. We also welcome you to help us distribute this appeal by publishing it in your virtual or physical press.
Please find the appeal reproduced below.
With comradely greetings,
N.
Comrades!
Today humanity faces the same ultimatum posed to it since the eve of the First World War, in the words of Rosa Luxemburg and Friedrich Engels before her - Socialism or Barbarism.
The world capitalist system has seen its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, with the working class taking the brunt of the blow, everywhere facing wage-freezes, job-cuts and worsening working conditions. The threat of global environmental catastrophe looks more possible than ever before. Bloody and brutal conflicts rage on around the globe - from Iraq to Afghanistan, Somalia to Sudan, Colombia to Mexico.
In contrast to these emanations of a moribund society we also see the germs of a new world – without exploitation or oppression, without poverty or scarcity, without wars or national borders – in the class struggle of the international working class.
The Communist Left has its origins in the Left currents of the Communist International which came into being as a proletarian response to its opportunist slidings when faced with the retreat of the international revolutionary wave in the 1920s. Whilst the Communist Left had expressions in many countries its most prominent representatives were to be found in Germany, The Netherlands, Italy and Russia. In the period of counter-revolution which opened at the end of the 1920s, it was the Communist Left which proved to be the most intransigent defenders of proletarian internationalism and the most rigorous in drawing up the balance sheet of the revolutionary wave.
Whilst sympathisers of the Communist Left do exist in Australia, at this point they do so only as individuals suffering largely from political isolation. In order to effectively intervene in the class struggle, it is necessary that revolutionaries organise themselves into a political organisation, founded on the basis of shared positions and principles.
However, at the present hour the immediate formation of such a group is not on the agenda in Australia. What is needed at present is the coming together of internationalists for discussion conducted with the goal of initiating and maintaining contact between comrades (particularly those who are geographically isolated) and collective political clarification of the positions which define the communist programme today.
Thus, we appeal for the initiation of organised discussions between all sympathisers of the Communist Left in Australia. It is proposed that the discussions are conducted under the name: ‘Internationalist Communist Affiliate Network’.
We propose the criteria for participation is agreement with the most elementary positions of left communism today:
Imperialist war and national movements of all stripes have nothing to offer the working class but death and destruction. The working class must oppose all bourgeois camps. By calling on them to take the side of one or another faction, the bourgeoisie divide workers and lead them to massacre their class brothers and sisters
Parliament and bourgeois elections are a masquerade. Capitalist ‘democracy’ does not differ at root from any form of capitalist dictatorship. Any call to participate in the parliamentary circus can only reinforce the lie that elections offer any real choice for the exploited.
All unions are organs of the capitalist system and act in its service. The fundamental role of the unions is to police the working class and sabotage its struggles. In order to defend its immediate interests, and ultimately to make the revolution, the working class must struggle outside and against the unions.
All who may be interested in taking part are encouraged to write to InternationalistWorker@gmail.com. We also welcome any comments, questions and criticisms.
With fraternal communist greetings,
F, J, M, N, T
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