We have just founded the Revolutionary Communist Party. We want nothing less than to overthrow capitalism in our lifetime. We want to build a new communist society, where the horrors of the system will be a thing of the past. There is no cause more just than this.
We’ve often pointed to a poll showing that 13 per cent of 18-34 year-olds in Canada—one million people!—think communism is the ideal economic system. This is an inescapable sign of the times.
There’s a name for these people. They are the vanguard of the working class. These are the people who understand that the capitalist system must go, and who are looking for a solution. The RCP aims to integrate as many of these conscious and unconscious communists as possible into the party, and turn them into an organized force.
However, even if we managed to organize thousands of these communists into a party, we would still constitute a tiny minority. Canada’s working class numbers some 20 million. The working class is made up of different layers, reaching different conclusions at different times.
The challenge facing communists is twofold. On the one hand, the vanguard, the minority already convinced of communism, must be organized into a party immediately and without delay. There can be no stalling in this task, and we must do everything in our power to achieve it.
On the other hand, we need to educate and train this minority, and give them the tools to win over the majority. This vanguard must learn how to win over the rest of the working class.
It’s not enough for the RCP to simply talk about communism in the abstract. The art of communist politics is learning to connect with the masses of workers, learning to link their aspirations and demands to the overthrow of the capitalist system.
Among the invaluable tools for achieving this are two books that should be on every communist’s bedside table: “Left-Wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder by Vladimir Lenin (1920), and the Transitional Program by Leon Trotsky (1938).
These two works are of the utmost importance. They are two of the best texts to answer the question: how can communists win over the masses?
We aim to give an overview of these two texts here, so that every communist can then delve into these fundamental works and assimilate their common method. A scrupulous study of Marxist theory and the history of our movement is necessary if the RCP is to lead a revolution today.
Sectarianism
Communist groups have often fallen victim to two main errors.
On the one hand is opportunism—that is, abandoning the long-term goal for the promise of short-term gains. In attempting to reach workers who have not reached revolutionary conclusions yet, there can be a tendency to adapt our principles, watering down the ideas until they are no longer a threat to capitalism.
But the opposite error is no less serious. A danger implicit in the work of communists is to ignore the very real needs of the workers at any given movement and simply repeat the abstract truths of communism, without any connection to the reality of the working class.
Lenin’s “Left-Wing” Communism is his classic text attacking this tendency, which he called “ultra-leftism” or simply “leftism.” It is also what Marxists call “sectarianism.”
What is sectarianism? A sectarian is a communist who imposes his preconceived schema on reality. If reality doesn’t correspond to the abstract truths of communism, the sectarian rejects that reality. As Trotsky explained in another text: “A sectarian does not understand the dialectic action and reaction between a finished program and a living, that is to say, imperfect and unfinished mass struggle.”
In Lenin’s time, this trend was reflected in a number of issues. In Germany, the left wing of the German Communist Party invited revolutionaries to leave reformist-led unions and form separate revolutionary unions. This was an example of crass sectarianism. Since the unions are run by reformists, then these unions must be rejected as a whole. Similarly, they refused to work in parliament, claiming it was “obsolete.”
These comrades were incapable of understanding the relationship between communist ideas and the contradictory nature of the development of workers’ consciousness. Instead of reaching the workers where they were, they used the pretext of the domination of unions by the reformists to boycott them.
This attitude was borne out of a correct rejection of the reformism of social democracy and the trade union leaders in Europe. They had completely betrayed the masses, had no intention of overthrowing capitalism, and were adapting to parliament and the routine of labor-management relations.
But in rejecting reformism, these ultra-leftist layers went too far, trying to create their own “pure” little workers’ movement, safe from the reformists.
Likewise, some “lefts” had a completely abstract approach to the class struggle, counterposing revolution to the immediate struggles of workers.
In Canada, the first communists made remarkable mistakes in this area. During the Toronto general strike of 1919, the party produced a leaflet which read “The Communist Party of Canada is not opposed to your strike” (!). Rather than supporting the real struggle of the workers, they criticized them for not having armed themselves to immediately take power.
This abstract and sterile “revolutionism” was common among young communists. On this path, the communists were never going to win over the masses. It was against this “infantile disorder” that Lenin led a fight.
‘Politics is an art’
At the heart of sectarianism lies an impatience, an inability to accept that different layers of the working class come to revolutionary conclusions at different paces. Lenin explains:
“It is obvious that the “Lefts” in Germany have mistaken their desire, their politico-ideological attitude, for objective reality. That is a most dangerous mistake for revolutionaries to make.” (our emphasis)
“Sectarianism” or “ultra-leftism” often stems from a communist mistaking their desires for reality. Convinced of the communist perspective, they underestimate the importance of patient work to convince workers and young people of our ideas.
In his book, Lenin elaborates:
“As long as it was (and inasmuch as it still is) a question of winning the proletariat’s vanguard over to the side of communism, priority went and still goes to propaganda work; even propaganda circles, with all their parochial limitations, are useful under these conditions, and produce good results. But when it is a question of practical action by the masses, of the disposition, if one may so put it, of vast armies, of the alignment of all the class forces in a given society for the final and decisive battle, then propagandist methods alone, the mere repetition of the truths of “pure” communism, are of no avail.” (our emphasis)
What’s important here are the two tasks Lenin distinguishes. The first is to win over the vanguard of the working class, the thousands of young people who are opening up to communism. In many cases, these people are just waiting to hear that a communist group exists before joining it.
The second task is to connect with the masses, to learn how to address a crowd of workers the majority of whom are unconvinced. This is an art that all RCP comrades must learn. And it’s not as simple as proclaiming the need for communism in general.
When speaking out in public spaces, in neighborhoods, at demonstrations, on picket lines, it’s important to start from the immediate demands of workers, and to bridge the gap between these issues and the need for revolution in a way that everyone can understand. Lenin puts it this way:
“They [the communists] should go into the public houses, penetrate into unions, societies and chance gatherings of the common people, and speak to the people, not in learned (or very parliamentary) language…”
Communists must be the most dedicated fighters. We must be part of every struggle, ready to defend our perspective with passion.
Every communist is imbued with a deep hatred of oppression and those who defend or minimize it. In this sense, communism begins with the heart.
But to win, we need to master the skill of connecting the communist program to the demands and feelings of the masses. In his book, referring to a letter from a German “leftist” comrade, Lenin explains it this way:
“The writer of the letter is full of a noble and working-class hatred for the bourgeois “class politicians” […]. In a representative of the oppressed and exploited masses, this hatred is truly the “beginning of all wisdom”, the basis of any socialist and communist movement and of its success. The writer, however, has apparently lost sight of the fact that politics is a science and an art that does not fall from the skies or come gratis.”
It’s not enough to hate capitalism. We need to master the art of connecting with the workers, which can only come from a combination of practical experience and a scrupulous study of Marxist theory.
Go where the masses are
Practical experience can only be gained by communists throwing themselves in the movements as they are, and doing everything to get the ear of the people. A fundamental principle of our activity is to go where the workers and young people are.
In “Left-Wing” Communism, Lenin explains to his comrades that the history of the Bolshevik Party was not a straight line to revolution. The Bolsheviks had to work in trade unions set up by the tsarist police, in reactionary and corrupt parliaments, and cohabited in the same party with the reformists of the day, the Mensheviks. The principle was to do everything to have a platform from which to address the workers.
Lenin explains that it is completely wrong for communists to reject work in the unions simply because their leaders are not revolutionaries. It is necessary to work in the unions despite their reformist leadership, and to form strong communist cells there:
“If you want to help the ‘masses’ and win the sympathy and support of the ‘masses’, you should not fear difficulties or pin-pricks, chicanery, insults and persecution from the ‘leaders’ (who, being opportunists and social-chauvinists, are in most cases directly or indirectly connected with the bourgeoisie and the police), but must absolutely work wherever the masses are to be found. You must be capable of any sacrifice, of overcoming the greatest obstacles, in order to carry on agitation and propaganda systematically, perseveringly, persistently and patiently in those institutions, societies and associations—even the most reactionary—in which proletarian or semi-proletarian masses are to be found.”
As long as we’re the minority, we can’t expect the masses to suddenly come to the RCP. We’re the ones who have to go to them.
One of the main lessons of Lenin’s book is that communists must apply absolute flexibility in tactics, while not bending in the least on our principles and ideas.
Trotsky and the transitional method
We spoke earlier of the need to link workers’ aspirations with the communist program. On this question, there is no better text than Leon Trotsky’s Transitional Program.
It was the founding document of the 4th International, born in 1938. That organization is dead, but Trotsky’s ideas live on.
At the time, the forces of authentic Marxism were reduced to a tiny minority, much smaller than the “leftist” communists Lenin polemicized against in “Left-Wing” Communism.
As the imperialist powers were inching closer to another world war, in the midst of a period of revolutions, the question of how the 4th International could win over the masses was a burning one.
The Transitional Program is a continuation and development of the ideas set out by Lenin in “Left-Wing” Communism. Trotsky explains the task as follows:
“The strategic task of the next period—prerevolutionary period of agitation, propaganda and organization—consists in overcoming the contradiction between the maturity of the objective revolutionary conditions and the immaturity of the proletariat and its vanguard (the confusion and disappointment of the older generation, the inexperience of the younger generation). It is necessary to help the masses in the process of the daily struggle to find the bridge between present demands and the socialist program of the revolution.”
He then explains what this “bridge” consists of:
“This bridge should include a system of transitional demands, stemming from today’s conditions and from today’s consciousness of wide layers of the working class and unalterably leading to one final conclusion: the conquest of power by the proletariat.”
There’s a prejudice that communists reject the struggle for reforms. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, our criticism of the reformists is precisely their inability to win anything.
In his Transitional Program, Trotsky explains that communists fight to defend every conquest of the working class, and want to improve its lot everywhere. Communists will be part of every struggle. But our role is to help workers see the big picture and link the immediate struggle to the general struggle for overthrow of the whole system. This is the point of the transitional method: to demonstrate ultimately that overthrowing capitalism is the only way to satisfy the demands of workers and the oppressed.
A very current example of this method is the communist approach to the pro-Palestinian encampment movement, where the demands “Divest and Disclose” are mobilizing tens of thousands of young people everywhere.
Communists wholeheartedly support and participate actively in the movement. But it would be pointless if we simply repeated what everyone else says and already knows. We also should not ignore the concrete issues of the day and simply state abstractly that communism is the solution.
Applying the transitional approach to the encampment movement, we have explained that the demands for divestment and disclosure are correct, but that we need to go one step further. The demands point to the heart of capitalist domination of educational institutions by raising the question: why are universities managed like capitalist companies? Why do we have no say in the management of our schools—and how can we? The unelected cliques on the boards of universities cannot be trusted. This is why we demand that universities be run democratically by committees of workers and students, rather than by rich, unelected bourgeois. This is how we start from the movement as it is, and take it towards the need for a radical transformation of society.
We’re not inventing anything; these demands come straight from the Transitional Program. In the face of economic chaos, factory closures and corruption, Trotsky raised the demand for the abolition of trade secrecy; in other words, the opening of accounts, so that workers know where money comes from and where it goes, and the formation of factory committees to oversee their management.
Are these demands utopian, as some would say? Trotsky replies:
“If capitalism is incapable of satisfying the demands inevitably arising from the calamities generated by itself, then let it perish. “Realizability” or “unrealizability” is in the given instance a question of the relationship of forces, which can be decided only by the struggle. By means of this struggle, no matter what immediate practical successes may be, the workers will best come to understand the necessity of liquidating capitalist slavery.”
Many would say that divest and disclose is utopian, and that is not how universities work. This only shows that capitalism is the obstacle. If the private ownership of universities is preventing us from stopping genocide, then the system needs to go!
The method set out in the Transitional Program is the same as Lenin’s in “Left-Wing” Communism. To the question “how to win over the masses,” both texts offer the tools to answer it in practice.
There is no ready-made recipe. Communists must fully understand that the working masses learn from experience, and find the bridge between their experience and our ideas.
We have the dual task of uniting the communist vanguard in the party, and learning to link immediate struggles to the communist program—learning to win the masses. We have to work within the labour movement as it is, with all its confusion and challenges.
Winning the right to lead
A summary cannot do justice to Lenin and Trotsky’s two fundamental texts. Every communist needs to study them closely. Theory is the foundation of the RCP. Every communist must conquer these ideas and the Marxist method.
Before long, Quebec and Canada will be the scene of class struggles the likes of which we have not seen for a long time. Everything points to the development of mass anger, which will find one form of expression or another. It will be a prolonged period of struggle, of advances and setbacks, of revolution and reaction.
The revolution will be made by the working class itself. But the history of all revolutions shows that if there is no revolutionary party capable of leading this struggle, workers’ revolts end up being stifled and fade away.
We do not have delusions of grandeur. The objective conditions for revolution are present—but we are a young party lacking experience. However, if we take the study of Marxism seriously and plunge straight into the struggle, we can gain the necessary experience and become a recognized force within the workers’ movement. That’s how we’ll win the authority and confidence of the workers, and lead our class to communist victory.
“The very need for the party originates in the plain fact that the proletariat is not born with the innate understanding of its historical interests. The task of the party consists in learning, from experience derived from the struggle, how to demonstrate to the proletariat its right to leadership.” (Trotsky, Where next?)
