Another boring contribution

"The Communist" is the incredibly boring theoretical journal of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA (neither more nor less). It should not be confused with another magazine also called "The Communist", published by the competing Progressive Labor Party.

This issue of the RCP's journal was published in 1977 and is dated May 1. The masthead carries two portraits of the butchers (or great Marxist-Leninists) Stalin and Mao, which may tell us something about the approximate political preferences of this group, at least in 1977. Later, the RCP embarked on a cultic-ultraleftist turn, promoting a zany personality cult of its very own leader Bob Avakian. Chairman Avakian, arguably, is neither a butcher nor a great Marxist-Leninist, but then, I'm not really competent to judge the latter option. (But then, neither are you.) Today, this small party claims that Avakian is *better* than Stalin and Mao (who would butcher him for such blasphemy). Apparently, he's also better than Marx, Engels and Lenin (who would merely laugh). But all this was still future when "The Communist" was published.

On most issues, RCP version 1977 took a stance somewhat to the "right" of its Maoist competitors, the only exception being their rejection of Three Worlds Theory (mentioned mostly in passing in this issue). Otherwise, the RCP sound like a Maoist version of...well, the CPUSA perhaps? They reject Pan-Africanism and the Black belt theory, call for a strategic united front (i.e. a permanent popular front), oppose the demand for a shorter work-day as "abstract", defend China's line on Bangladesh, etc.

To mock one of their Maoist competitors, the RCP actually reprints one of their leaflets. The competing group was known as the WVO, but is perhaps better known under its later designation, the Communist Workers Party. I admit that the WVO's leaflet *is* incredibly funny. It was passed out to striking autoworkers and contains the following slogan: FORWARD TO THE PROLETARIAN PARTY OF THE BOLSHEVIK TYPE - IMMIDIATE AND ALL-ROUND PREPARATION FOR THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE PROLETARIAT!!!! (Four exclamation marks in the original.) And yes, it demands shorter work-days...

RCP's own contributions are, unfortunately, much more boring...

:D