. The first three issues of Communist Voice were published by the Detroit Marxist-Leninist Study
Group, with the support of comrades in other cities. In the first week of September 1995, after
detailed discussions, comrades in a few cities united into the Communist Voice Organization.
Subsequently the CVO published Communist Voice.. Below are the constitution (consisting of a
preamble and the CVO rules) and statement of principles approved at the time of the founding of
the CVO., as they appeared in CV #4, September 15, 1995.
. The CVO is an organization dedicated to help establishing anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninism as a trend in the U.S. and the world. Only thus can Marxist communism once again take its role as the ideology of the struggle of the proletariat for an end to class oppression and for the ushering in of a classless society.
. Now is a time of theoretical confusion, and the victory of the West in the Cold War has been accompanied by wide-scale doubts about whether there is an alternative to the marketplace, and wide-scale propaganda that it is socialism and Marxism that was responsible for the crimes of revisionist state capitalism and that collapsed. In such a period, the role of theoretical clarification is immensely important. But only a few individuals stand for anti-revisionist Marxism in today's period of doubt. The CVO is a union of precisely such individuals for the purpose of helping reestablish the theoretical basis of Marxist communism. Its members may engage in various political, agitational, and literary activities; these activities may provide a valuable link with the masses which, among other things, help inspire the theoretical work; and these activities may in turn be reported on in the publications of the CVO. But the work of the CVO centers on its theoretical task.
. To this end, the CVO will publish the journal Communist Voice.
. The CVO is a small grouping working in large part informally. It is a working group that will
decide its general affairs periodically by majority vote, and concentrate on its theoretical and
political work.
. 2. The CVO will publish the journal Communist Voice. It will emphasize theoretical issues, but also carry other articles of interest to communist activists and class-conscious proletarians. Articles gives the views of the writers, and unless otherwise indicated, do not necessarily reflect the view of the whole CVO. The editor or editorial board should seek to have the CV focus on matters of general concern to the CVO and to communism, but it should also ensure that the different opinions of CVO members find a place for expression. The journal will also welcome materials from non-members, including people who disagree with much of our stand, provided those articles are of serious value with respect to the issues of interest to the CVO. It is however not an open forum for all former members and supporters of the MLP or others not in the CVO, that is, it does not guarantee the publication of an article just because it comes from former MLP circles or any other non-CVO circles.
. 3. The CVO will elect each year the editor or editorial board for the Communist Voice. As well, each year the editor or editorial board will give a report on its activities and the situation of the Communist Voice and the CVO.
. 4. The CVO will elect each year a treasurer.
. 5. Members of the CVO must support the general stand of the CVO, pay dues, respect the CVO Constitution, and support the journal Communist Voice.
. 6. Decisions on new membership in the CVO after its initial formation, as well as expulsions, will be made by majority vote of the CVO itself. All general decisions of the CVO will be made by majority vote. It is expected that in any controversial decision, the members of the CVO will take the effort to look into the views of the various sides and not just ram through a decision by quick majority vote.
. 7. The voting in the CVO will be organized by the editor or editorial board of the CV.
. 8. The CVO will adopt a statement of purpose expressing its general stand.
(Statement of purpose of the CVO)
. The comrades who are collaborating to produce Communist Voice are Marxist-Leninist
revolutionaries. We stand for a working class alternative to capitalist society.
Capitalism thrives on exploitation and oppression
. The present social order in the U.S. rests on the exploitation of tens of millions of workers. Year after year, the living standards of the workers and poor deteriorate. Meanwhile, this misery goes hand-in-hand with huge profits for the corporate giants, multi-million dollar bonuses for the CEOs, and the good life for the rich in general.
. It is a social system that has created technological wonders and great productive powers. But in the hands of the capitalists, these great powers are turned against the workers. They mean speedup and layoffs. They mean swelling the army of unemployed workers and the huge "underclass" which lives on the edge of destitution. And while the need for social welfare grows, social programs are being cut to ribbons. This profit-driven system is the breeding ground for rampant racism, the hounding of immigrant workers and the oppression of women. Capitalist greed constantly leaves environmental devastation in its wake.
. The political system serves the needs of capitalist exploitation. American democracy means the class rule of the corporate giants. The president, the Cabinet and Congress are tied to the capitalists by a thousand threads, as are the Republican and Democratic parties. The legal system and the various police agencies keep the downtrodden from threatening the profits of the wealthy. The social ills bred by capitalism are "solved" by more police measures and a "boom" in jails. Capitalist democracy is democracy for the rich and repression for the poor.
. Meanwhile, American capitalism is the world's imperialist superpower. It is the global cop and
the largest international exploiter. It heads up a world order of oppression along with the other
imperialist powers. It is a system where multi-national corporations exploit labor, plunder
resources and exercise political influence around the globe. It is a system where the U. S. and
other imperialists seek to impose their will around the world through economic pressure,
international agencies, and war. Militarism, power politics, spheres of influence and the division
between haves and have-nots are not an accident or a mere policy choice but are an inherent
feature of capitalism in its monopoly stage.
The workers and poor need a new social system
. The workers and poor need a new society. They need a society that is free of the profit motive and therefore can use the great productive powers and technological marvels of today to benefit the masses. Such a new society can only be achieved through the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism and its replacement by the class rule of the workers. The workers must step-wise learn how to run the new society, convert the economy to social ownership and abolish anarchy of production, end exploitation, and build up the common productive powers. The construction of such a socialist society creates the basis for eliminating the social ills born of capitalism and of class society in general. And it will create the conditions for passing over to a classless, communist society.
. The new society is not some scheme dreamed up by utopian planners. The groundwork is being laid by modern capitalism itself. It has created productive powers that have the potential to eliminate want. Large-scale production has laid the basis for social ownership. It is the billions of exploited workers and poor peasants worldwide whose class interests make them the potential vehicle of revolutionary change.
. We believe that the working class alternative is not just a future goal. Its achievement is the outgrowth of the development of the class struggle. The struggles of today not only are a necessity for survival, but provide the training ground for the greater battles of tomorrow. We support the day-to-day battles of the workers to defend themselves against the capitalist offensive of unemployment, wage and benefit-cutting, speed up, etc. We stand with the masses struggling against imperialism and the war machine, against racism, sexism and anti-gay bigotry.
. We hold that for the workers and poor to achieve their immediate and long-term goals, they
must be able to express their own class stand. They must get organized independently of the
capitalist parties, the Republicans and Democrats. As well, they must fight such vehicles of
capitalist influence as the trade union bureaucrats and the reformist misleaders in the anti-racist
movement, the women's movement, etc. They must rely on mass action and class organization,
not the establishment.
Without an anti-revisionist theory, there will be no communist movement
. We think that the success of the working class struggle depends on it being guided by
revolutionary theory. That theory is Marxism-Leninism. We do not think that theory provides
some standard recipe for revolution. Rather it provides a basic framework and principles that
must be applied to present conditions.
. Many have falsely labeled themselves Marxist or Leninist. There are the "Leninists" who back repressive state-capitalist regimes such as the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe of yesterday, or the China and Cuba of today. There are "Marxists" who are banking on the reformists or trade union bureaucrats to move the struggle forward, and "socialists" who preach about the wonderful new societies that can allegedly come about without overturning the old oppressive social orders. Such "Marxists" have revised Marxism beyond recognition. We hold that Marxism-Leninism is nothing if not anti-revisionist. We aim to carry through the anti-revisionist critique of such theories and of the tyrannies that posed as "communist". We stand opposed to Soviet revisionism from Stalin to Gorbachev. We also stand opposed to Trotskyism, Chinese revisionism, Castroism, social-democracy and anarchism.
. We believe that study of the entirety of the Soviet revolution and its subsequent decay is part of
developing socialist theory. This must include examining the period under Lenin's leadership.
We do not believe this means rejecting Leninism. We support the Leninist framework and draw a
distinction between that framework and the evaluation of particular policies.
The revolutionary workers party
. We believe that the class struggle requires a revolutionary party to guide and organize it. Such a
party would be made up of the most class-conscious workers and other dedicated activists and be
guided by Marxism-Leninism. As the class struggle develops, numerous other forms of
organization will come into being and pass away. But unless there is a party representing the
interests of the class as a whole, a party with the political clarity to influence the diverse
struggles, the struggles cannot converge on a common path against the capitalist exploiters. A
party of the most clear-sighted sections of the class is vital to guide the proletariat amidst the
confusion spread by reformist and opportunist trends. A vanguard party is needed to both
strengthen the present struggles and to develop within them the consciousness and organization
that will prepare for the bigger battles of the future. The Communist Voice Organization is not a
party, but hopes its work can make a contribution to the eventual rebuilding of a communist party
worthy of the name.
For world proletarian solidarity
. The struggle of the American working class is part of a global struggle of capital and labor, of
exploiter and exploited. The American workers must stand with the workers and poor peasants
around the world. This requires special attention to support for the creation and building of
revolutionary class organizations of the proletariat all over the world. It also requires overcoming
the national and ethnic divisions among workers. This is inseparable from the American workers
opposing their "own" imperialist bourgeoisie, its oppression of toilers around the world, and its
national rivalries with the competing bourgeoisies of other countries.
Our political roots
. The founding members of the Communist Voice Organization are mainly former activists of the Marxist-Leninist Party, USA, which produced The Workers' Advocate newspaper. The MLP dissolved at its 5th Congress in November 1993.
. The MLP was a staunch defender of the workers' interests and consistently fought to spread revolutionary class consciousness and defend the Marxist-Leninist theory. Under the pressure of over a decade of lull in the mass movements and of the neo-conservative ideological climate of the times, however, a section of the party gave up their previous belief in the need for building an anti-revisionist trend although another section held that the present times cried out for continued communist organization. Despair over revolutionary work also gradually took hold among a majority of the MLP's leaders who sought to eliminate the party's revolutionary stands and publications.
. Thus the ideological unity of the party fragmented and the growing liquidationist mood was reflected in varying ways. The liquidators turned Lenin s views into cardboard caricatures and then dismissed them. Modern capitalism was prettified and imperialism reduced to incidental "flaws" rather than the world order of capitalism in its monopoly stage. In the difficult conditions and backwardness of the times, they no longer saw much point in imbuing the masses with revolutionary class consciousness and the perspective of socialism. Indeed, some eventually went so far as to put up for grabs even the basic Marxist theses that capitalism would give rise to socialism and that the working class was the vehicle of this revolutionary change. For some, the only thing that was realistic at present was "free market" development and petty-bourgeois dreams of ever-growing democracy which would supposedly take place under the rule of the capitalist and imperialist exploiters.
. As the MLP dissolved, a section of former members and supporters fought to continue the discussion of the controversies that tore apart the MLP. These comrades came together as a grouping at and following the 5th Congress of the MLP, which dissolved the party. This grouping (the "minority") fought against the anti-Marxist liquidationist ("majority") views. But within this grouping itself, some shared the skepticism of the liquidators towards anti-revisionism and, as well, substituted anarchist anti-organizational phrasemongering for a serious critique of the strengths and weaknesses of the MLP. The "minority" grouping that had come up to carry on the debate on the controversial issues in the MLP proved incapable of declaring any common platform, and broke apart. The Communist Voice Organization is continuing, however, to uphold anti-revisionist Marxism, and to that end, we are publishing Communist Voice. <>
Last modified: October 12, 2004.
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