CPA Program

1. Preface

2. Introduction

3. Ideology - What We Believe

4. Analysis - What We Think

5. Positions - What We Want

6. Goals - What We'll Do

Preface

The purpose of this Program is to clarify the Party's ideas and positions to members and prospective members of the Party.

This Program was first adopted on [date] and is a draft document which has not yet been ratified by the first National Convention, yet to be held. It serves as our Program until such time as a Program may be adopted by the first National Convention.

This Program was authored by Gideon with the advice, input and cooperation of comrades and workers. It includes edited sections from the unpublished book by Gideon, "War and Revolution." Inspiration was also drawn from the Programs of existing left-wing political parties in the United States.

Introduction

We fight for socialism: a workers' state, the dictatorship of the proletariat, a democratic socialist republic. The Communist Party of America (CPA) is an underground communist political party of professional revolutionaries, militant activists, and brave fighters devoted to leading the socialist revolution in the United States of America. As part of the struggle for the American socialist revolution, we fight for concrete improvements in workers’ and oppressed people's lives and offer a vision of socialism, a vision of the future. We are proud members of the international Communist movement, which shares the same basic aims and is active in every country in the world.

The CPA was founded by comrade Gideon, a longtime Communist revolutionary with years of experience in the revolutionary and people's movements.

The CPA has formed at a critical juncture in the history of the country: the end of democratic liberalism and the beginning of fascist dictatorship. The Democrats and the all-people's front tactic of the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA), Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) and others have failed to stop the fascists. The anti-fascist united front is necessary to reinforce the all-people's front and mobilize the working class and oppressed masses to combat the fascist dictatorship in an organized, strategic way.

The rise of fascism portends the prospect of civil war, and both the struggle against fascism and a possible civil war present an opportunity for socialist revolution. The CPA is devoted to participating in the mass anti-fascist movement in order to first help defeat the Trump dictatorship and then to build class-consciousness, to build the anti-fascist united front which may precede the revolutionary united front, and to build the Communist Party.

The Party has formed in the wake of long study, observation and practice, which together have revealed that the other left parties and organizations are incapable of leading a revolution. To begin with, the social-democrats such as Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the Socialist Party, USA (SPUSA) and the left-wing Greens (there are two Green parties, a bourgeois one and a petit-bourgeois "socialist" one) are opposed to socialist revolution, preferring a peaceful democratic transformation of the bourgeois state into a "socialist" one. Then, first of all, by not being underground, they tend to openly reveal all or many of their leaders, activists, members and supporters to the enemy (the bourgeois state), making them easy to target and liquidate in the event of any attempted revolution. This disqualifies "mass parties" like the CPUSA as well as "cadre parties" like the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). Secondly, by not recognizing Maoism as the development of Marxism-Leninism, they fail to comprehend the basic problem of civil war in America as a component part of the socialist revolution: they falsely imagine that theirs will be a single victorious insurrection. This disqualifies "anti-revisionist" "ML" parties like the American Party of Labor (APL). Third, by not acknowledging Gonzaloism as the development of Maoism, they fail further to understand the need to combine great leadership and urban and rural guerrilla warfare with the militarization of the Party and the concentric construction of the Party, the people's army and the united front. This disqualifies "Maoist" parties like the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP). Fourth, many lack party consciousness: the desire to organize for the struggle for political power. This disqualifies "organizations" such as FRSO. Fifth, many lack coherent historiographies. This disqualifies the Trotskyites such as the "Revolutionary" "Communists" of America (RCA); it also disqualifies the myth-driven Provisional CPUSA ((P)CPUSA).

Our mass line on the united front distinguishes us from the rest of the left, who have not figured out a way forward and are instead jockeying for position in the left-wing ecosystem. While much of the left denies the obvious threat of fascism, and the rest opportunistically seize on the threat in an accelerationist manner to pad their own organizations' memberships, or in some cases merely links the workers to the ruling class as an appendage, a tail, the CPA calls for the unity of all proletarian forces in preparation for the fight of a lifetime against fascist dictatorship and for socialist revolution. "Workers of the world, unite!" is not just a tagline for us: it is the objective necessity for the survival of the movement today.

Ideology - What We Believe

The CPA is Marxist-Leninist-Maoist-Gonzaloist, or simply Gonzaloist.

First of all it must be said that we are not Shining Path-ists, we do not believe in copying everything the Shining Path did. They committed atrocious crimes against the people, which Gonzalo personally bore responsibility for. We do not worship Gonzalo or believe he was morally pure or Christlike. He was a man who committed crimes against the people. Nevertheless, we uphold many of Gonzalo's basic ideas as concrete contributions to the Communist movement, chief among them, the concept of combined urban and rural guerrilla warfare.

Every Leninist is convinced of the ideas of Marxism, and every Maoist is convinced of the ideas of Marxism-Leninism. Furthermore, every Gonzaloist is convinced of the ideas of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. Gonzaloism exists on the basis of MLM; it is the development of MLM.

What is Marxism? It is the idea that society has developed throughout history via the class struggle, that today's society too is a class society, that this class society is characterized by the division between the proletariat (working class) and the bourgeoisie (capitalist class), and that the mode of production (capitalism) develops the size, strength and unity of the working class while also developing the means of production such that it becomes possible to satisfy everyone's needs and basic wants through a new form of society in which the workers displace the capitalists as the new ruling class, together with the creation of a new, working-class state.

What is Leninism? In its essence, it is the idea that the history of the struggle of the Marxists proved the necessity of an underground, democratic-centralist, cadre-based revolutionary socialist party of professional revolutionary activists devoted to carrying out socialist revolution; and it is also the idea that the labor aristocratic layer in the bourgeois trade-unions and the legalist, democratic reformist pseudo-revolutionary social-democrats tend to betray the socialist revolution. The experience of the international social-democracy proved the Second International to be a traitorous organization deluded by the revisionist, false theory of peaceful, democratic transformation of the bourgeois state into a socialist state. Instead the Social Democrats when in power refuse to carry out socialist reforms, maintain capitalism, and attack revolutionary socialists seeking to create a new, radically democratic, workers' state. Worse still, social democracies are inherently unstable forms of rule as they give the appearance of threatening the capitalist regime and are punished for any progressive measures by capital flight, etc., while being unwilling to respond with the necessary force or decisive measures, such as nationalization or seizure of the wealth and property of capitalist emigrants.

What is Maoism? Maoism recognizes everything above, but says that the revolutionary insurrection to seize power and establish the new state inevitably is connected with a revolutionary civil war to defeat the capitalist state: the basic development of Maoism is the idea of people's war, that a multi-class popular revolutionary war to establish socialism is necessary. Some Maoists dissent that people's war is not a universal strategy for revolution, but what this fails to understand is that war is inevitable. In no instance has the proletariat seized power without a war with the old state. This is a fact of history and is not up for debate. While it is conceivable that a sole, nationwide armed insurrection could seize power and simultaneously disable and dismantle the bourgeois state with sufficient support of a democratic upsurge, that is essentially fantasy and is not backed up by history.

What is Gonzaloism? Recognizing the inevitability of revolutionary civil war, the principle revolutionary organization, the vanguard Communist Party, prepares for the inevitable war from the earliest point, by operating securely, as an underground organization, and by conceiving its strategy as being connected to an eventual revolutionary civil war instead of conceiving it as a moment of insurrection or, more unlikely still, a peaceful democratic revolution. Gonzaloism recognizes that revolutionary violence is the highest form of struggle, because it is both the highest-stakes and because it is decisive, resulting in death or injury of the rebels or of the oppressors' army, which is their main force for maintaining power.

This does not mean that violent methods are always the best tactic and it does not mean that every stage of the revolution is principally violent, although it can be said that every stage of struggle is in part characterized by more or less violence, even including peaceful, democratic, legal struggle. It means that violence is the ultimate form of struggle, a final form of struggle which finally establishes which class holds state power, which is the main form of political power.

Gonzaloism also recognizes in the history of the Communist movement the natural emergence of great leaders such as Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao among many others. This is not an invention of Gonzaloism but is an observation of historical fact: in the Communist Parties, where democratic-centralism and collective leadership reign, natural leaders emerge who garner the respect and admiration of their peers and who tend to represent the will and desire of the revolutionary movement symbolically through their political role. Such people are not arbitrarily elevated but are quite literally great leaders. Thus Gonzaloism has the idea of Great Leadership, which is that the Party should sport a great leader to unite and inspire the Party. The obvious risk involved is hero-worship, the cultivation of a cult of personality, and the "great man of history" theory, which are all foreign to Marxism. The solution is clear: inoculate the membership against these three deviations through political-theoretical education and organizationally ensure both collective leadership and a line of succession in the command structure. Under no circumstances can a revolutionary party take orders or instructions from captured (imprisoned) leaders, who are compromised.

Gonzaloism also recognizes the need for Party leadership over the revolutionary united front, for creation of a secret revolutionary army led by the Party, for militarization of the Party itself, for the concentric construction of the Party within the army within the united front, and the need for combined urban and rural guerrilla warfare in the protracted people's war. Each of these points have been proved by the historical practice of all actual socialist revolutions and are substantiated by the state of society today and its trajectory.

Gonzaloism is the organizational and strategic completion of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.

What did Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Gonzalo get wrong? Marx made the mistake of collaborating directly with the anarchists. Engels maintained faith in what would prove to be the traitorous Social-Democracy, from which the Communist movement eventually had to split to maintain the revolutionary movement. Lenin did not consider his own RSFSR as being a socialist society at first, despite the working class holding political power through the Soviets. Stalin persecuted devoted revolutionaries, rolled back social and cultural progress in the USSR, practiced great-Russian chauvinism through the dissolution of the Third International and the creation of the USSR-centric Cominform. Mao turned against the USSR and mischaracterized them as no longer being socialist but "social-imperialist," a false social category, for their revisionism and collaboration with US imperialism, and Mao promoted the Great Leap Foward, which ended in disaster, and also promoted the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution which, while basically progressive and an invaluable instrument in the struggle against revisionism and the capitalist road, resulted in armed adolescent factional streetfighting, nearly culminating in actual civil war, while managing to destroy innumerable works of culture and art and terrorizing innocent people. Gonzalo mistook China as "social-imperialist," too, and also was responsible for carrying out at least two terrorist attacks against civilians, and allegedly many more, in addition to using possibly unnecessarily cruel methods of execution.

It is not necessary for Gonzaloists to uphold the mistakes, wrong decisions and crimes of our forebearers in order to recognize their contributions to the Communist movement and to point to them as a reference to the key ideas and methods of the movement. On the other hand, it is certainly not necessary for us to denounce everyone who makes mistakes or even those who have committed crimes: we must comprehend the total context of the world class struggle and recognize the revolutionary struggles of the oppressed masses for their merits while learning from what they got wrong, and why.

Why is Gonzaloism is the correct political ideology for the proletariat in the United States today? It is because only Marxism can answer the basic question of the form of society and its essential dynamics, revealing to the worker their allies and enemies and laying out a basic strategic goal, the revolutionary replacement of the bourgeois state with the proletarian state. Only Leninism can give the basic organizational and ideological form to the Marxist movement such that it can succeed in making a socialist revolution at all. Only Maoism appreciates the inevitability of revolutionary civil war as a necessarily protracted war. Only Gonzaloism recognizes the need for combined urban and rural guerrilla warfare, concentric construction, and great leadership.

In the United States today, the capitalist state will never allow itself to be replaced by a socialist state, nor be transformed into a socialist state. No matter how massive the democratic mandate may be, there will be armed counter-revolutionary resistance. Revolutionary civil war is inevitable in any scenario in which a socialist revolution is pursued. The government is not going to just roll over; the capitalists who control the state are not going to allow their main organization of rule, of political power, to be swamped or displaced by revolutionaries. They will inevitably use extraordinary violence to crush the revolution. Therefore we must be prepared for such a struggle, beginning with protecting the identities of our cadre, members and supporters and developing the clandestine Party.

Today, the Communist Party of America is the only Gonzaloist Party in the country. Therefore the CPA is the only revolutionary party in the country, because it is the only political party which has even correctly conceived of its basic strategic problems: all other organizations have failed to do this. The closest organizations to us in the country are the Provisional CPUSA, because it is underground and preparing for an insurrection, although they are compromised as basically a delusional cult; FRSO, as they are said to sport an underground although their legal-above ground work severely compromises them, and although their contrivances like support for Aztlan are a non-starter for socialist revolution in the country; and perhaps the Maoist Communist Union (MCU), although they have issued an erroneous, confused critique of Gonzaloism. There is the Revolutionary Maoist Coalition (RMC), which appears sympathetic to Gonzaloism but which also appears not to have nailed down an ideology, so it is suitable that it has taken the form of a coalition and not a party - but the workers need a revolutionary party, not just a coalition. The RCP, ostensibly Maoist, advocates for Bob Avakian's meaningless and practically, simultaneously sectarian and left-opportunist "New Synthesis," having split from the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM).

The rest of the U.S. left is inert from a revolutionary standpoint: they are incapable of making socialist revolution and therefore work objectively as opportunists feeding off of the movement and reproducing unnecessary pseudo-revolutionary Party and organization hierarchies that serve mainly to reinforce the promulgation of their own false notions among the wider people's movements. DSA are social-democrats and thus work ultimately as social fascists, helping to oppress the communist movement; CPUSA are revisionists who delude and mislead the proletariat into rejecting the very thing we need, which is armed revolution; PSL, for all their Marxism-Leninism, have no apparent underground, and anyways practice a sectarian strategy which will never unite them with the worker masses and which in practice proves to be singularly opportunist.

Thus Gonzaloism is at the forefront of the revolutionary movement in the United States. It still has a tiny following, but that will gradually grow as people discover the truth of Gonzaloism.

The unspoken criticism of Gonzaloism is that it is frightening not because it is deadly, but because it is risky. This is tending towards cowardice. True revolutionaries must be willing to give their lives to see the success of the revolution. This is because the revolution is a violent affair and nobody unwilling to risk their lives can be trusted in such a situation to stick by the revolution to the end: they will betray it to save their own skin. We neither need nor want cowards nor even peaceniks in our Party. We are a party of revolution, and therefore we are also a party of revolutionary war, and so our Party members must prepare to become revolutionary soldiers, which entails discipline, bravery and heroic sacrifice.

What do the other Gonzaloists, such as the International Communist League (ICL), get wrong? Gonzalo himself and the Communist Party of Peru (PCP) were right to criticize China for its revisionism, condemning them for the 1979 deal with the United States, completing the Sino-Soviet split which divided the international Communist movement. However, the content of this criticism was incorrect: China didn't become "social-imperialist" or "capitalist" because of a change in leadership in the person of Deng, although it is true that it embarked on a "capitalist road" it turned out that the then-critics of this "road" were proved wrong in their fears that it would terminate in the abolition of socialist social relations in China. China, despite its revisionist capitalist road, its dealings with the United States and its policy failures such as the decision to support the Taleban during the Soviet-Afghan War, its political economy remained and remains fundamentally socialist. This is because socialism is not characterized by this or that leader, ideology or policy but by the question of which social class holds political power through the state. In China, the Communist Party rules the state and the Communist Party is comprised and led overwhelmingly by the working class. China's is a dictatorship of the proletariat in which capitalists and capitalist social relations are merely allowed as in a controlled microcosm, but within the context of state control and state planning of the economy.

By recognizing socialist China, Cuba, Korea, Vietnam and Laos we, in the eyes of the other Gonzaloists and Maoists, place ourselves in the revisionist and/or social-imperialist and/or capitalist-roader camp. But again, socialism is not the completed and perfected absence of bourgeois social relations, it is fundamentally the dictatorship of the proletariat, which does reign in "the five sisters" as China calls them, the five socialist countries. However, by upholding the idea of the protracted people's war above all, in the eyes of the revisionists we place ourselves in the Maoist camp. Furthermore, upholding Gonzalo by recognizing his contributions to Marxism-Leninism-Maoism isolates us from the other Maoists in general. So, because we uphold the basic contributions of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and Gonzalo to the proletariat's struggle, but are also critical of them, our critical Gonzaloism differentiates itself from orthodox Gonzaloism, especially in it is misappraisal of China as not being socialist, but also from the entire rest of the socialist movement, which variously holds incorrect positions on basic and important issues like the social nature of China. This is important because whether or not China is a socialist country affects whether or not a party in a country such as the United States will support them, defend them and seek to befriend them or make enemies of them.

Gonzaloism is characterized by the concept of great leadership, which simply means that the Party should have very good leadership, that the leadership should be admired and respected, and should symbolize the revolutionary struggle, serving as a revolutionary role model, while avoiding hero-worship, the "great man theory of history", or the cult of personality. In short it is both okay and important to recognize great revolutionary leadership, even as the Party utilizes collective leadership and democratic-centralist decision-making.

Gonzaloism is also characterized by the recognition of the need for the protracted people's war to be characterized by combined urban and rural guerrilla warfare. This is correct because it is suited to modern conditions in all countries. Most of the world's population now lives in the cities, and in the United States most of the population also lives in the cities, however, there is also significant wilderness territory which could prove useful to the people's army and there are significant rural zones where there are still many laborers and lower middle class people who may support us. In the USA we can follow the traditional Maoist idea of "surrounding the cities from the countryside" by building rural/wilderness base areas and engaging in mobile guerrilla warfare, however, this must be substantially supplemented by significant proletarian military activity in the cities.

Gonzaloism is further characterized by the concept of concentric construction. In concentric construction, the Party is at the center of the revolutionary pole, guiding and leading the revolutionary movement; around it is built the people's army, which defends and protects the Party and advances the revolution; and around that is built up the revolutionary united front of people's struggle organizations, of unions, etc. devoted to the socialist revolution. It is already an established fact of Leninism that the Party leads the revolution. What Gonzalo realized was that the people's army always plays the role of protecting the Party and of connecting the Party with the united front, and, that the army emanates from the Party, the Party itself being militarized. Further, he came to understand that the Party and the army themselves both comprise part of the wider revolutionary united front, yet it is incumbent upon the Party to lead the army and the united front in order to see a successful revolution. As long as the Communist Party is not in command of the people's army, it will at best serve a democratic or social-democratic role. As long as the united front is not under the command of the Party it will struggle without a truly revolutionary vision or capacity to carry out revolution no matter how revolutionary it may be.

Gonzaloism is characterized as well by the concept of the militarization of the Party, part of concentric construction: the Party, being within the army, is itself militarized: every Party member is to join the people's army as part of their duty to the revolution. The Party must retain absolute political-ideological control over the people's army; the Party must oversee the army. Concomitant with the militarization of the Party is undergroundization and illegalization of the Party. Because it militarizes, it is necessarily underground to conceal itself from the enemy which occupies the territory in which the people's army operates. Because of the bourgeois perception of the revolutionary Party as being a real threat, and because the Party does not limit itself to legal struggle, therefore sooner or later the party is banned by the government: illegalization.

Orthodox Gonzaloism, like orthodox Maoism, ascribes to China a social-imperialist or capitalist character, whereas our Gonzaloism breaks from this theoretical error of Gonzalo's and recognizes the socialist character of China.

Orthodox Gonzaloism also rejects participation in bourgeois elections, but we think this is a left-sectarian mistake that does not apply to this period of struggle in the United States, where elections still have substantial influence on the political-ideological and policy makeup of the state, namely, in offering the possibility of a Democratic liberal reprieve for the working class from Republican fascism. We even support the fielding of Gonzaloist candidates for the purpose of propaganda and, if power is won, for the purpose of fomenting revolution and serving as a proletarian pole of opposition to help scuddle the plans and workings of the bourgeois state. However, we must always make clear that democratic capture of the bourgeois state will not avail the proletariat of a socialist society - for that we must make a socialist revolution which creates a new, socialist state, and for that a revolutionary civil war is required. Furthermore, at some point participation in bourgeois elections will become superfluous and a real obstacle to progress for the revolutionary movement. That moment is one in which the revolutionary dual power, the new state, has arisen, and all participation in and support for the bourgeois state must be liquidated in favor of hegemonic, en bloc support from all revolutionary forces for the new, contesting state power, the socialist republic.

Orthodox Gonzaloism also assails the U.S. left for their revisionism, and while this is correct, it is also important to realize that at this juncture the primary purpose of the united front must be not socialist revolution but democratic defeat of the fascist menace, a struggle which may grow organically into a struggle for socialist revolution if we participate in it and help to lead it exactly by promulgating the idea of the united front against fascism. Under capitalism, the workers and most capitalists both prefer a democratic republic - the fight is principally a fight against Trump fascism. In other words while we must retain freedom of criticism we must also seek to cooperate with the reformists, the revisionists, and even the liberal bourgeois organizations to oppose fascism. This is different from joining or supporting them, which we should not do, and we should openly criticize them. We take and combine the popular front and united front strategies of the traditional Marxists-Leninists, which we believe better suits our conditions. In the popular front the Communists work to unite the proletarian struggle with the bourgeois democratic struggle against fascism. In the United States this is principally expressed through voting for the Democratic Party at the current stage of development of the struggle, however, the popular front will tend to erode as the Democrats fail to stand up to fascism. Therefore the current popular front bulwark must be reinforced by the united front which combines working class organizations into an anti-fascist coalition which can coordinate a strategic struggle.

Finally it must be said that Gonzaloism is perhaps not the perfected, rarified end-point of the development of Marxism. If the struggle continues for another 100 years, it is conceivable that a further development which further refines aspects of the struggle could be introduced. For example, continued urbanization and the movement of populations from rural to urban centers could, conceivably, render guerrilla struggle in the wilderness and the countryside irrelevant or superfluous. Collective leadership could begin to overcome great leadership, proving the concept no longer valid in some revolution. Further Gonzaloist experiments in implementing concentric construction could also prove the concept to be contrived and incorrect. Nonetheless, Gonzaloism today is the most advanced form of Marxism and it is suited both to the United States and to all countries under the thumb of capitalism, and Gonzalo's most basic contribution to the international Communist movement, militarization of the Party because of the inevitability of protracted people's war, is indelibly correct, marking a solid advancement of Marxism.

Analysis - What We Think

 The USA is the most war-mongering, violent country in modern history, except for maybe Nazi Germany. It has probably been involved in more wars than any other country in the world. All but two of those wars (the Civil War, and World War 2) have been purely reactionary and imperialist, often neocolonialist and/or anti-Communist. This behavior by the USA on the world scene clearly reveals its real, craven interests as a neocolonial imperialist superpower.

Domestically it is riven with class division, principally between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, but also with a very large petit-bourgeoisie and labor aristocracy, which together comprise the middle “class”.

The bourgeoisie is the ruling class, and it is the imperialist segment of the bourgeoisie which has governed the country heretofore. At the time of writing this is being transformed into a fascist dictatorship under Trump’s second Presidency, the dictatorship of the most extremely violent and hateful corner of the imperialist camp.

The middle “class”, really a class plus a layer from another class (the uppermost section of the proletariat), derives its weal and woe in part from the golden goose of stolen Indian land and resources, partly from a sizable layer of the proletariat, and partly it feeds ideologically on the American Dream of owning property, land, a small business: “opportunity.” The opportunity to exploit oneself, to a greater share in the exploitation of others, to install oneself on the land in perfidy and shamefulness. 

Class Analysis of the United States and its Colonies

The lumpenproletariat: criminals and the very poor

““It is within this mass of humanity, this people of the shanty towns, at the core of the lumpen-proletariat that the rebellion will find its urban spearhead.” Thus does Frantz Fanon in his Wretched of the Earth describe the lumpenproletariat’s role in the revolution. “Brave fighters but apt to be destructive, they can become a revolutionary force if given proper guidance.” So says Mao. In The Red Papers 2, published by the Bay Area Revolutionary Union in 1969, Bruce Franklin explains that, quote, “we should be keenly aware of the unreliability of the lumpenproletariat, but we must reject Engels’ condemnation of them as completely worthless and merely dangerous.”

The industrial reserve army - the unemployed - should be distinguished from the lumpenproletariat. The former remain workers seeking work and their means of living comes principally from work throughout their lives. The lumpenproletariat on the other hand are, in general, the homeless long-term unemployed who have given up looking for work and survive by scrapping and begging, as well as the criminal layer such as drug-dealers, petty thieves and prostitutes. Often there is significant crossover with the working class, for example, many workers are also prostitutes, or scrap metal to supplement their income. However nevertheless we can distinguish two unique relationships to the means of production here differentiating the proletariat in general from the lumpenproletariat in general.

As to whether they can be recruited into the revolutionary movement - of course they can. To once again quote Red Papers 2,

“at least the youth of the lumpenproletariat should be able to play an extremely important part in revolutionary struggle, because they are the only group to combine this potentiality for heroism with an intimate daily knowledge of how to cope with the police and to engage in underground activities as a way of life. And remember that in What Is To Be Done? Lenin makes the mastery of these skills the primary requirement of the professional revolutionary and of the revolutionary party as a whole, [primarily] because these skills are needed to survive.”

That is to say, the criminal layer has skills that revolutionaries must master, and the lumpenproletariat in general is characterized in part by significant bravery required for living on the lam, surviving homelessness, or carrying out a bank robbery.

Yet the lumpenproletariat, because of its sorely heterogenous class origins, hailing from all classes, and because of its mean conditions of life, features a very uneven and contradictory consciousness, often characterized by political paranoia - belief in conspiracy theories - egoism/anti-collectivism, and unreliability in democratic struggle, in activism. To be able to lead even a small section of this layer of the class, the Communist Party must exhibit strong leadership and conduct itself with iron discipline, instilling this in lumpen comrades. Politics must take command and the CPA cannot allow itself at any level to be overtaken by so-called “lumpenization,” the transformation of the Party base from that of the proletariat to that of the lumpenproletariat. There seems to be little risk of that, however, and the Party stands to gain more by showing sympathy for and understanding of the lumpenproletariat as a precursor to attracting and recruiting support and membership from this layer.

That said, the lumpenproletariat does hold significant reserves of ex-proletarians who retain their social outlook and are in many cases leftists. These people can be organized, with some difficulty.

While it is untrue that the lumpenproletariat will ‘lead’ the revolution in the United States, there can be no doubt that it will play a significant role in supporting the proletariat in the socialist revolution.

The working classes:

the industrial proletariat and migrant farm laborers

The proletariat is the working class of the country and comprises roughly 45% of the population of the USA. The proletariat is the revolutionary class. Its social powers to conduct the political general strike and its latent capacity for revolutionary insurgency along with its ability to form up from among itself the most advanced revolutionary element in the form of the Communist Party all render the proletariat the premier mainstay of socialist revolution in the United States. This is in spite of the fact that it is at present widely infected with anti-Communism, with egoism, with small-business dreams, and is still, among the white proletariat, deeply affected by settler-colonialism. The American proletariat will triumph over reactionary ideology and will take up the Communist Program en masse in due time, because it has nowhere else to turn, all other political-ideological options being exhausted and our path now being that of fascism and civil war.

With regards to struggle, the proletariat still has a ways to go democratically. Victories against the bourgeois republic by the democratic masses in the way of civil rights, equality and political organization - there is no ‘labor-led people’s party’, no mass social-democratic party, no mass communist party - are in increasingly short supply. Women still do not have full equal rights, and now all the gains of the Civil Rights movement are under attack by the Trump regime. And anyways, mass incarceration of the Black population has been a mainstay of this country since at least the 1960’s, in response to the mass movement - and the armed struggle - then. Thus the overthrow of the state is for now precluded while the workers pursue the democratic struggle. This may be upended depending on how extreme the fascist dictatorship becomes - if it deploys the military against the people, if the soldiers fire on the democratic masses in their demonstrations, and simultaneously if democratic and civic entryways are barred by an authoritarian state, then in that case the proletariat may leap from principally democratic struggle to - with leadership - principally armed struggle, anti-fascist insurgency, if necessary.

The proletariat is divided, principally, into the industrial proletariat and the rural proletariat. The industrial proletariat is the regular workaday wage-earning working class, and includes a significant layer of labor aristocrats with very high wages, property, and petit-bourgeois false consciousness. This sector comprises the bulk of the mass democratic people’s movement in the USA, struggling for popular, progressive and democratic gains and more-or-less united, for now, behind the liberal (imperialist) Democratic Party in opposition to the fascist, formerly neoconservative, Republican Party.

The rural proletariat is that sector of the working class working in the countryside. One segment is comprised of mainly Latino migrant farm laborers, and another section of mostly white workers who live permanently in the communities where they work, and who are often related to the farmers exploiting the rural workers. Other major areas of rural work besides agriculture includes forestry and some mining. The Communist Party must strive to reach the rural proletariat in order to combat the pernicious right-wing ideology of the rural establishment, comprised mainly of the agricultural bourgeoisie. Strategically speaking, control of the countryside would limit the freedom of movement of an enemy intent on attacking a liberated city; liberation of the countryside here may well turn out to be a precondition of socialist revolution in the cities. America is a gigantic country and the vast majority of it is undeveloped or sparsely populated. Republican control of rural voting districts conceals a yearning among the rural proletariat for emancipation, for revolution, and for socialism, because they are oppressed and largely have no voice because of their comparatively small numbers versus that of the industrial, that is mostly city- and suburban-based proletariat.

America’s is, perhaps, the most well-armed working class in history. Never have the workers had more firepower than in the USA today. The revisionist and utterly liberal stance of the CPUSA that the workers should yield to increasingly strict gun control laws and “buybacks” which seek to constrain how much firepower the worker can wield and seek to discourage the worker from being armed in the first place - and some of their pitiful leadership’s mocking attitude towards the desire of workers to be armed at least for self-defense against fascism - is counter to everything Marxism-Leninism, and plainly Maoism and Gonzaloism, stand for, and represents a pathetic renunciation of the tenet of armed revolution. It is pathetic, ridiculous, and deeply offensive that these liberals in red sneer at those who are, by comparison, bona fide revolutionaries, inasmuch as they are would-be fighters for the revolution, whereas their detractors are practically pacificists who effectively at no time support armed struggle.

Comrades should understand this. Armed struggle is a fact of existence in the United States. It is not something that the CPUSA, for example, can wish away through stern condemnation or liberal-pacifist overtures to the middle class. Armed fighting does occur, though it has been rare in recent years. During the Black Lives Matter protests, when police were rioting, gunmen (sic) took up arms against roving police in one city. Famously, the workers burned down one Precinct in Minneapolis, while in L.A. over 66 police cars were damaged, dozens of them torched and totaled. In Dallas brave youth threw rocks at passing police after the curfew. In Portland Antifa fought fascists and Feds, while in DC militants and youth laid unarmed siege to the White House, driving a petrified Donald Trump underground to hide in his bunker, while kids outside banged on the gates with their skateboards.

People are ready and willing to use weapons in the struggle. Innumerable workers own and possess, and countless socialists, anarchists and communists are organized into the Socialist Rifle Association or have their own armed outfits, though small. American workers recognize the importance of the gun in preventing tyranny. This means that they value the armed struggle as a legitimate - nay, the only truly honorable path - to combating fascism and authoritarianism. If only this consciousness can be expanded to the positive, revolutionary program of socialism, then we will have something. Thus the peacenik CPUSA’s incorrect position on arms is not only misguided, it is a tremendous failure to recognize a gigantic opportunity. To throw this away is no mistake, it is a product of revisionism and translates to nothing other than betrayal of the working-class movement.

Furthermore, there is no way even the best-armed police force can hold up against the armed masses of any city, who both far outnumber and whose ‘artillery’ also far outnumbers that of the police, armored vehicles, robots and helicopters notwithstanding - though these things can all be destroyed, too, without direct parity. The insurrection of the armed masses is, at first, a sure bet: the workers can indeed capture power in the cities, however briefly, before the army attacks. Thus begins a protracted civil war, the outcome of which nobody can tell. What we can speculate on, however, is that they will bomb ‘their own’ cities to ferret out the guerrillas - ultimately to no avail, as their mass-murdering air war inevitably drives the masses into the arms of the rebellion. (Why an air war? Because ground troops cannot defeat guerrillas protected by the people except through extremely violent measures against civilians, which again drives them into the arms of the insurgency.)

The infinitesimal Weather Underground and the perhaps substantially larger (?) Black Liberation Army demonstrated that successful guerrilla struggle was possible already in the 60’s and 70’s, and into the 80’s, despite their relatively small size and few resources. Imagine if they had the direction and support, the connection of the Communist Party? Yet the latter, the CPUSA, refused to have anything to do with these forces, condemning them to isolation and defeat despite remarkable popular support.

In fact, the CPUSA's refusal to support or lead armed struggle led in part to the creation of and subsequent isolation and decimation of the Black Panther Party (BPP) as the latter alone as a party in the US undertook armed struggle. Both represented segments of the proletariat, despite the Panthers’ so-called “lumpenization.” The CPUSA should have remained underground following 1954 and developed the armed struggle against fascism and for national liberation, getting out ahead of the inevitable armed movement which emerged in full regalia by the 1970’s. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, yet, Maoists - which the Panthers were - were literally screaming at the CPUSA to wake up to the reality that “brothers [were] dying in the street” and that it was “time to pick up the gun.”

The idea that the proletariat doesn’t want violence is, generally speaking, correct. We don’t want violence, we want peace. But, “if you want peace, prepare for war,” because it is a large arsenal which keeps the wolves at bay and which equips you for a successful struggle in the event those wolves attack. American workers, however, are generally unafraid of violence and are willing to fight. At issue is not, then, whether American workers are pacifists - as if - but whether or not they can be won to the socialist cause and made to understand the need for a revolutionary war.

For if the proletariat are ‘socialized’, but do not appreciate the need for revolutionary war, then they will not be equipped to carry out their revolution and it will founder on the rocky outcroppings of fascism and brutality. It is important to understand that only the working class can raise a hand to the imperialist-fascist power. This does not at all mean that only individuals who are wage-workers, or worse yet, only in their capacity as workers, i.e. through unions, can or should join the struggle. Rather it means that even the most unified, combative, coherent bloc of petit-bourgeoisie or of lumpenproletariat would not be capable of overthrowing the United States government, whereas this is a possibility for the proletariat, because of its size and its role in production - and its arms. Unions do, thus, after all, play an important part - only to say that the masses in America have hardly limited themselves, nor concentrated themselves particularly, in ‘economic struggle.’

On the other hand, if the Communist Party does not take command of the armed struggle, if it does not lead and organize it, then the workers and their forlorn allies will continue to strike out in frustration and desperation, to be spurned by their would-be allies and isolated from the mass movement that inspires them. In this country the violent agitation resulting from the deep, mass alienation that is a product of the extreme commodification of life, society and culture - see Debord’s Society of the Spectacle for commodification of culture - combined with the philosophical and ideological wanderings imputed upon this culture by anti-communism and, most essentially, the settler-colonial underpinnings and “super”-imperialist and recently fascist governance (itself utilizing the upper houses, gerrymandering and first-past-the-post to winnow the democracy, but most particularly, the allowance of the money of the big capitalists to buy influence and strength in electoral contests) – that is all to say, the perverted, inverted, evil and senseless violence that wracks the proletariat with so much pain and suffering in this country ultimately derives from capitalism. Without Party ideological and military leadership uniting the people and showing the way forward in the revolutionary movement, the confused violent frustration among some workers - which is not chiefly a result of “mental illness” and is not primarily a result of “white nationalism”, but these are instead themselves symptomatic results of a deeply irrational, white-power capitalist domination - will continue to terrorize the beleaguered workers and youth who so often see no way out other than murder-suicide.

The other form of this, and it is a major factor, is fascist terrorism.

Some fascists are workers, tragically, though many hail from the petit-bourgeoisie or the labor aristocracy. These fascists are recruited into the movement - and fascists generally are attracted to the fascist movement - on the same basis that workers are attracted to Marxism: that it is a revolutionary movement which seeks to upend the existing order, fix the government and fix the society. That is to say, the person who becomes the fascist recognizes that there are problems in society but locates these problems not in ethical concerns for the wellbeing of the masses but in the misshapen physiognomy of fascist conspiracy theory, racial "theories," etc. That is in part why education remains a major task of the Communist Party, because like violence in America - which may be reduced significantly through disarmament, but whose underlying social-psychological basis will only rot and decay further under this incipient fascism - the movement towards the two poles is an organic feature arising from the decay of capitalism and cannot be wished away or ignored by the Party, or by anyone. In short the proletariat is drawn towards two poles: fascism and socialism. It is the Communist Party’s duty to draw the proletariat behind the movement for socialism and to combat with all its might and on every field the fatal attraction of fascism and its wild lies and abuses that make liberalism look like a field day.

How exactly this is to be done depends on the concrete situation, which will certainly change. One lesson was confirmed from the Panther experience, which is that once the Party becomes militarized, or rather, once the bourgeois state learns that the Party is militarized, it launches a war of repression against the Party. Recall that the CPUSA was not militarized in the 1950’s or the 1920’s and yet it was forced underground by a rabid anti-Communist state: so being unarmed is hardly any guarantee against repression.

How to connect the Party with the working class? Workplace concentration, recruitment of coworkers, building up of influence and power in the unions, support of union struggles, especially strikes, and also supporting wider labor-backed community and electoral struggles: marching alongside organized labor and the wider working class and never leaving their side. This entails economic and political-democratic struggle. Whence armed struggle? The Party cannot undertake armed struggle until it has been militarized, which it cannot do until it has held a military school for its ranks. It also requires that the Party have a strong and well-functioning underground. Most importantly, the Party cannot undertake armed struggle without the support of the masses, which requires a developed socialist consciousness among the proletariat including recognition of the need for revolutionary war.

How, again, to reach the workers with this message, given the penchant for petit-bourgeoisdom in their ranks, due to settler-colonialism and to fascist neocolonial rule? Comrades must appreciate the proletarianization of the lower ranks of the petit-bourgeoisie and the ‘industrial proletarianization’ of the labor aristocracy - proletarianization of other sectors of society in general; the loss of their jobs and their being forced from their businesses and property (back, often) into the working class - as major sources of activated consciousness-forming among workers. These experiences drive the working class to adopt anti-capitalist attitudes which if seized upon by the Communist Party can lead to the Party’s growth in size and influence. The fascist menace will itself prove, contradictorily, a major boon to the recognition of the need for a revolution, albeit this poses the question of whether that revolution should be democratic or socialist. In general the decay of capitalism and its attendant ills will continue to radicalize the country’s population.

As to whether or not the workers are willing to take up arms, they already have, not infrequently, and mostly without Communist Party support. The Black population in particular have proven more than willing to take up arms to defend their communities and, if need be, to fight in column against fascist dictatorship. This level of militancy cannot be seriously discounted.

This is not to say that armed struggle is everything and the mass movement is nothing. That is a wrong formulation. The democratic struggle, the main mass struggle of today is not only the major form of struggle, the predominant one, it will remain so for perhaps some time and it is altogether unclear when organized armed struggle properly so-called will erupt. Who can know? The democratic mass movement is the spearhead of the revolutionary movement because it is the development and combativeness of the proletariat, its self-activity in consciousness raising, in rising from a class “in itself” to a class “for itself.” (Marx.) The armed struggle, on the other hand is not nothing but is an auxiliary, secondary struggle, necessarily because it is small, disorganized, and leaderless. The degree to which the Party assumes leadership over the armed struggle is the degree to which the armed struggle will develop in proportion as the Party’s guidance and organization thereof increases and becomes systematized. Then the armed struggle will acquire increasing importance and eventually war will break out.

The importance of the armed struggle lies not only in the ultimate requirement for the revolution of the destruction of the old state but also and majorly in the process of that destruction, which is necessarily piecemeal. Armed actions chip away at the power of the state - while also using up the energy and resources of the rebels. But history shows that where we peacefully concentrate our powers we will be decimated over and over again through “legal” means: the only way to ensure our continued existence, growth and resistance in the face of decaying capitalism, in the face of fascism, is with arms in hand.

Thus the Party and the proletariat must together be the initiators of the war, not waiting for the inevitable state attack to begin murdering our comrades. The revolutionaries must strike first, as Gonzalo advises, because a surprise offensive will avail the movement of a strategic advantage against the state. “The best defense is a good offense,” and although ‘in war, defense is the stronger position,’ ultimately ‘only offense can win the war’ (On War, Clausewitz). This does not mean striking out willy-nilly but at an opportune moment, a revolutionary moment in which the masses are active and moving on the political scene, such as for example in a struggle against fascist dictatorship where the democratic window is closed.

What will make the proletarian revolution’s form unique in the United States will be that its civil war is in large part a revolutionary urban guerrilla war, a phenomenon that has increasingly wracked international capitalism over the past century and especially the past 50 years. This is because the proletariat are located in the cities and despite their size and numbers, and assuming the petit-bourgeois and settler-colonial attitudes are properly displaced by Communist consciousness, the war will have to be carried out against the police and the military, the latter harboring substantial capability to occupy cities for prolonged periods of time. Yet in the end the guerrillas will defeat the occupiers and the latter will have to resort to carpet-bombing, shelling, or even nuclear weapons. The blueprint for this treatment is clear from the U.S.’ M.O. abroad, but is also sketched in sharp relief by Israel’s evil genocide in Palestine, principally Gaza, where it bombed and razed virtually the entire enclave and is trying to force out its entire population at gunpoint. This is little different than, for example, the British policy in Malaya or Kenya, or the U.S. policy in Vietnam, or the fascist policy in Spain during the Civil War: carpet-bombing was originally a fascist tactic invented by the Spanish before being whitewashed and approved for use by the Allies against, infamously, Dresden, but also in Korea, and perhaps most heinously in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with nuclear bombs.

Americans do not want this but it is being forced upon us by the fascist imperialists and their wretched lackeys. The American worker wants peace - not war. But if it comes down to it, we will fight for our rights as we have done before, and in response to this deteriorating system, we will increasingly begin to call for a revolution. Already in the past twenty years the support for socialism and communism has increased dramatically from just a few percentage points to dozens of percentage points. Innumerable young people now hold positive opinions about socialism and communism and they are not alone in joining the ranks of the left-wing parties, including the Communist Party. This tendency will only sharpen as the crisis of capitalism in this country worsens and deepens into fascist totalitarianism, even as that same phenomenon reinforces bourgeois-democratic illusions among other layers.

Regarding the rural working class, ‘a little is a lot’, and inroads by the Party winning points of support among the rural proletariat, both sedentary and migrant workers, can translate into big gains for the class and the Party. This is because of the sparse population of the countryside. Yet it is replete with factories, mines, and farms where workers gather. These focal points can be exploited by the Communist Party just as in the cities. The countryside is also favorable to guerrilla struggle, offering few roads for military vehicles to travel down, many ambush points, innumerable escape routes and significant cover. Recall the air war waged by the Soviets and the Afghan socialist republic against the Mujahideen. At first the Soviets/Saur Afghanistan were crushing the right-wing insurgency, until U.S. Congress delivered them stinger missiles to take out their aircraft, memorialized with heavy imperialist bias in Mike Nichols’ 2007 Charlie Wilson’s War. This war proves that as long as the guerrillas retain anti-aircraft capabilities and popular support in the countryside, the air war will face enormous difficulties. The U.S. is likely to resort not only to low-flying aircraft but also to advanced fighter jets which would be difficult or impossible to shoot down. This would thus require the shellacking of U.S. air bases by the revolutionary armed forces.

Ultimately the government will have to rely on crimes against humanity, killing civilians en masse with the hope of trying to kill a few guerrillas. They can then perversely claim that the revolutionaries are ‘using human shields,’ when in fact it is the mass-murderers who are treating civilians like ‘human shields,’ like objects to be mowed down. They will rely on terrorist methods, abuse, torture, kidnappings, disappearances, threats idle and real and will raze whole neighborhoods or whole cities to the ground in order to terrorize the populace into submission: transparently all fascist tactics. We know this because it is in their own training modules for counter-insurgency methods which they teach at such luminous educational institutions as the terrorist center, the School of the Americas. We also know this because we have gotten a taste of the methods of fascism here under Trump previously with his militarized secret police and, before then, with the depraved struggle waged by the FBI and its adjuncts against the Panthers and others in the 60’s and 70’s.

The migrant farm-laborers are difficult to organize because of their conditions of life determined by their unique relationship to the means of production. Many are visitors to this country - foreign nationals - and some are undocumented immigrants. They are all poor and fearful due to their precarious situation. Thus it will take a strong, powerful and very convincing Party to give them leadership, to unite them, through the union struggle and the democratic struggle and also through the armed struggle. On this question migrant farm laborers could make excellent guerrillas, launching surprise insurrections on poorly-defended farmland and seizing land and property for the revolution. Base areas could spread in the countryside in this way. At the same time, if the proletariat also undertakes its armed struggle, then the military will be split between occupying or bombing the cities and attempting to occupy and bomb the countryside. “Divide and conquer.” On the other hand, should the enemy concentrate their forces for overwhelming victory, revolutionary forces should simply withdraw until the concentration subsides. (Mao.) So territory conquered may be lost or traded many times before it is finally secured for the revolution. Migrant workers may be instrumental in this.

The “middle class”:

the lower petit-bourgeoisie and the labor aristocracy

The middle class in the United States is composed of the lower petit-bourgeoisie and the labor aristocracy. Small business owners, small-time managers, and well-paid union workers all fall into this category. Their material interests are bound up with that of capital, yet in their daily lives they associate regularly and closely with the industrial working class. The middle class harbors numerous petit-bourgeois “democratic” and liberal illusions. Quintessential among these is the superstitious belief in “peaceful revolution.”

The middle class are, maybe despite themselves, comfortable. They eat well, if nothing else, and probably sleep alright, too. They “own” or really own cars and houses, they have insurance and vacations and 401(k)’s, they invest and dine out and, typically, shun the lower classes - because they fear becoming them, as a rule. This can make the middle class difficult to work with for the lower proletariat. Communists can help raise the consciousness of middle class people through patient explanation, and can build cooperation between these different layers and classes through practical work.

Yet this comfort of the middle class keeps them for a long time, for the most part, from the grips of the revolutionary idea. The middle class continue to harbor liberal ideals and in the anti-fascist struggle serve as a major force influencing the proletariat. However, it is exactly this democratic struggle, brought to a head in the fight against the fascist dictatorship, which teaches and therefore tends to radicalize more and more of the middle class, bringing them over to the Communist standpoint. The middle class cannot lead but must be led in the revolution by the proletariat, and this they will do because their wavering prevents them from adopting their own solid stance, in contrast with the development of the political hegemon, the Communist Party.

Unfortunately, this is a slow and contradictory process, and many middle class people will simply not stick by any social revolution as long as they have their knick-knacks and trinkets supplied to them by capital. The labor aristocracy is more capable of being mobilized in by and in the interests of the proletariat, but this depends on a strong rank-and-file movement, a strong proletarian impetus from below. The trade-union leaders will not move on their own, not in America. The lower petit-bourgeoisie, less so, but even some of them have taken up the banner of Democratic Socialism. All well and good. Most remain liberals, though, and will for the duration of the struggle. Nevertheless revolutionary propaganda must strive to reach these petit-bourgeois and we must strive to build connections with these and with the labor aristocracy wherever possible - without, however, committing opportunist errors in seeking to do so.

The “upper class”:

the upper petit-bourgeoisie and the bourgeoisie

The upper petit-bourgeoisie, owners of medium- and larger-sized businesses, are as a rule fascist. The ascendant capitalist follows the adage, falsely attributed to Winston Churchill, that if you are not a liberal when you are young, you have no heart and if you are not a conservative when you are old, you have no brain: any rising capitalist with a brain would support conservatism in days past, but now with the advent of fascism, it is necessary for the upper petit-bourgeois to break bread with the fascists, as much out of fear for themselves and their businesses as for the imaginary economic benefits.

Why is the petit-bourgeoisie split between upper and lower? Because proletarianization is perpetually underway on a society-wide scale. Small businesses are constantly failing and small business owners are constantly being driven (back) into the ranks of the proletariat. These same pressures which give a kind of proletarian, not to say class, consciousness to the lower petit-bourgeois also contradictorily create a subset of really hateful petit-bourgeois, the worst of the worst, slumlords, shady businesses, etc. who respond to the tight conditions befalling their operation through criminal subterfuge, oppression, super-exploitation of their employees, etc.: the lumpen-bourgeoisie. On the other hand, those petit-bourgeois who have escaped the pitfalls of proletarianization enjoy the expansion of their businesses and, generally speaking, grow richer. “The system works!” They become millionaires. They play in local and state politics. They eat at steakhouses and get expensive seats at games. They have been chosen by the “invisible hand,” and they always believe it was because of their hard work - nobody bothers to question the hard work of those behind the 90% of new businesses which fail.

The upper petit-bourgeoisie, therefore, are of one mind with the bourgeoisie proper. They completely see themselves in them. And because of this they identify their technically separate interests with the interests of the big capitalists, the monopolists, the billionaires. The upper petit-bourgeoisie are in fact so enamored by big capital and so fervent in their desire to reach still higher tiers of the social ladder - because they must, because their role as capitalists compels them through competition to seek ever greater profits, ever greater capital investments, ever greater production, ever greater market-share - that they throw themselves irrationally into the fascist cause. They really believe that the dictatorship, by further dehumanizing and oppressing the already oppressed and by attacking the liberal democracy, will benefit their businesses in the form of lower taxes and a cheaper, more exploitable workforce. They’re right, but the economic destruction wrought by the regime will undermine the benefits for these would-be big capitalists. Despite their material interests as petit-bourgeoisie, which fundamentally conflicts with the controlling and subjugative role of of the big bourgeoisie - despite themselves, that is - they support the big most radical wing of the capitalists, the fascists. They allow themselves to be deluded by the populist sloganeering of the ideologically bankrupt fascist troupe because it speaks to their own material interests superficially while really supplying the fascist movement with fresh meat.

The upper petit-bourgeoisie are, therefore, as a rule, undesirables. Their wealth and power are thoroughly contaminated with fascist proclivities. We cannot ally with such people. Of course there are exceptions to every rule, and inevitably the petit-bourgeoisie produces its own class traitors, revolutionaries. In general, however, we can expect only the staunchest opposition from these people. 

The bourgeoisie

The bourgeoisie, big capitalist class, monopoly capitalists, or simply the capitalists, which overlaps heavily with the billionaires and the super rich, own nearly all of the means of production in the whole country. Through their companies and their government, they control the newspapers, the mines, fishing, agriculture, construction, food service, communications, transportation, social services, manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, education, civil society, liberal democracy and popular culture, and many other things besides. The bourgeoisie, which constitutes a tiny percentage of the population, holds enormous social, political, economic and cultural power.

There is a liberal bourgeoisie, but there is no “progressive” bourgeoisie in the United States - except the colonized bourgeoisie, with their nationalism - because of its settler-colonialism, which renders even the most liberal bourgeois fundamentally incapable of consistently standing against American colonial domination, fundamental to qualifying as a consistent progressive. The progressive liberals are liberal workers, mostly organized in the unions and civil society groups. Their successful politicians are remarkable exponents of the people’s power to successfully organize and elect progressives and reformists. But this is a fundamentally proletarian force which leverages middle class support. That is why the Democratic Party, the main political tool of the liberal bourgeoisie, sports a progressive wing: it is the workers and their middle class allies pushing for this, not something promoted from on high by the capitalist-controlled Democratic National Committee.

There is a traditional conservative and a neoconservative bourgeoisie, but they’ve been crowded out by the fascists and their protests are meek and pitiful in the face of the united MAGA movement which has dominated the Republican Party. They still control key posts in the judiciary and throughout the state apparatus, but they are presently under assault by the Trump fascists who have been massively purging their supporters from the security apparatus.

The fascist bourgeoisie, which includes many of the largest companies and richest people in the country - and some of the richest people in the world, in history - is not a new phenomenon in the United States. Ever since at least the 1930’s, there has been a fascist wing of the U.S. bourgeoisie. IBM, Ford, GM, Standard Oil (today ExxonMobil, Chevron, etc.), Chase Manhattan, Coca-Cola, Hershey’s and the lesser-known Kuhn, Loeb & Co. - a then-prominent investment bank - supported Nazi Germany. Though during and after America’s intervention in World War 2 these companies lined up with the state in support of their bourgeois rulers, this same state carried out Operation Paperclip which brought back Nazi criminals to the United States to work in defense-related industries. The United States also conducted Operation Red Sox, which organized, trained, armed and led fascist stay-behinds in Ukraine after the fall of fascism before the might of the Red Army. These stay-behinds would lay the basis for the eventual Banderite seizure of power in 2014, a project the liberal bourgeoisie also supported - showing how liberalism first fosters and then begins to yield to fascism.

The fascist bourgeoisie is the class enemy of the proletariat and the fascized, repugnant pseudo-”republic” it generates is the proletariat's main target. The liberal bourgeoisie are useful allies up to a certain point in the struggle, the middle class still more so, because whereas the former cease after a while to fight at all, the lower middle classes will go on fighting to the end with the proletariat. This we have seen in country after country where a popular struggle against fascism was undertaken. The people’s armies, such as they were, were comprised not only of Communists and workers but of people from all backgrounds - but typically worker or middle class.

There is no social-democratic bourgeoisie in this country. The social-democratic movement here is entirely petit-bourgeois in nature and disproportionately labor-aristocratic in its class makeup. Even their relatively wealthy exponents (Bernie Sanders owns two houses!) are broke and so powerless in comparison to the upper ranks of the bourgeoisie. The capitalists here will never support “socialism” of any sort, which they see correctly as a mortal threat to their private property, to their private rule over the whole of society.

The bourgeoisie nevertheless implement the social-democracy as a kind of release valve to prevent revolutionary explosions by the proletariat. By allowing proletarian or petit-bourgeois "socialist" representatives into Congress, into the state legislatures, etc., into the state, the revolutionary appetite is temporarily sated and the people devote themselves to realizing the gains made possible by their victories.

The instrumentality of the social-democrats such as the DSA for the bourgeoisie must be balanced against its effectiveness in bringing reforms to the people. Eventually, degeneration of American capitalism renders reforms increasingly pathetic, then non-existent, and now, today we are actually in a period of counter-reforms under Donald Trump. Still, there are opportunities for reform: opportunities to blow off steam, and win some redress for our grievances.

The bourgeoisie cannot square anti-Communism with social-democracy unless the latter throw themselves into the anti-Communist struggle even more aggressively than their bourgeois masters. The workers may first in general try out the reformist socialist road, but, sooner or later, their leadership’s pernicious role as traitors to the socialist revolution and agents of the capitalists and the fascists will be revealed to the proletariat, and the masses will go the Communist way. To this the capitalists - liberal, fascist, whatever - can only react with vicious mass oppression, mass killings, hysterical antics and bald-faced lies. In the long run, from the standpoint of the Communist alone, all capitalist factions are effectively fascist, because they all want to destroy the Communist Party, murder the revolutionaries and suppress the socialist revolution forever. Nevertheless, the Communist takes the standpoint not of one’s own self as a Communist, but the point of view of the proletariat as a whole, which today has not reached the socialist conclusion and tomorrow may be distracted by the social-democratic ideal. This is why we struggle alongside the masses as they develop their consciousness, to help them in building this consciousness. If we were to jump out ahead of them and say, like the PSL effectively did in their 2024 Presidential campaign, that there was no effective difference between the Democrats and Republicans, we would be misapprehending the practical-political understanding of the masses and putting forward a nonsense slogan that only applies at a future juncture, during the actual revolutionary struggle for the seizure of power.

The bourgeoisie here are terribly violent and oppressive. Suffice it to say, however, that it is the only ruling class in history to have opted to use a nuclear weapon, twice, both times against civilian cities. The U.S. is, as Martin Luther King, Jr. observed, “the greatest source of violence in the world today.” The capitalists are a violent, militarist bunch and must be expelled by military methods: the strategic defeat of the U.S. military and the liberation of America from the U.S.A. by revolutionary Communist forces.

The colonial bourgeoisie

Native and colonized nations controlled by the U.S. host bourgeoisies which are riven in two camps: nationalists and compradors. The nationalists fight for independence from and equality with the United States. The compradors fight for nothing, submit to their domination and participate in the selling out of their country to the neocolonialist imperialist firms and government operations which exploit and oppress their people. Each colonized nation sports these two wings of their native bourgeoisie in varying degrees.

In the United States today the compradors hold power in their respective countries. But the fury and anguish of the people in the colonies - in Navajo Nation, in Puerto Rico, in Guam, in Alaska - is boiling up, and an explosion will follow sooner or later. The nationalist bourgeoisie will hardly take their place, however, and it will depend in the end on the independent action of the colonial proletariat and the struggle for a New Democratic revolution to bring final, real, equal national rights.

For now the compradors are satisfied to exploit and sell out their compatriots, but that won’t last forever. The colonized masses are already fully wise to it and are only seeking the proper organization to strike out. The organization of colonialism is the colonial, comprador-ruled state, operated for and at the behest of U.S. imperialism under the auspices of neocolonialism. The organization for the colonized proletariat is the nationalist, the deconolonizing party, along with the nationalist bourgeoisie, etc. The Communists, of course, disdain to conceal their views and aims, and should work in earnest as part of this movement. We invite native people in the United States to consider and join our Party, and we respectfully encourage our neighbors in the colonized, native nations to create your own Communist Parties to spearhead the struggle for national liberation and socialism.

Democracy

Bourgeois democracy, or “democracy,” its incorrect commonplace, is a shell game. It is the ballroom of the rich, the wealthy and the powerful - the bourgeoisie - where they schmooze, dine and deal. Our own inroads are incidental and come after only the most concerted and exhaustive efforts. It is not for nothing that Marx and Lenin both observed that the democratic republic was the perfected form of bourgeois rule.

This is no mystery to the general public, only two-thirds of whom vote, and most of those do so grudgingly, knowing that in the end the capitalists always win. Elections are not a doorway to the socialist republic; utilizing the machinery of the state to carry out a revolution against the state is a non-starter. Gonzalo, building on his predecessors, explained the problem quite clearly:

“[...] the main thing about the elections is the need to boycott them, and if possible, prevent them. Why do we say this? What do the people have to gain? Nothing. The people won't gain anything through an electoral renewal.

[...]

We have therefore put forward, and the facts have borne out, that the tendency in Peru is to expect nothing from elections or from a new government. The tendency is to reject elections. Where does the problem lie? In the way revisionism and opportunism continue promoting elections, that's where the problem lies. So what is the key point here? To strike blows and expose what the electoral process means, that it means nothing except allowing the renewal of the authorities of this old and rotting order, that it means nothing else. Because they won't be able tell us that it means maintaining the democratic arena. This is an old story that no one is going to believe any more.

[...]

 …they said that there was democratic space, that we were in a pre-revolutionary situation, and that by using the parliament as a tribune we could go over to a revolutionary situation--only to tell us later that we had to focus on defending the existing order. I think that this is the main thing for the people, that the majority express their repudiation of the elections, even if by simply casting a blank vote, even if it is just by doing that. This is important because that is how the will of the masses of people, the immense majority who already understand that the electoral road offers no solutions, will be expressed.

I think they have wanted to make use of the elections, putting forward the electoral campaign, in order to get the people to focus their attention on the elections. But we see that this plan has failed for two reasons. The first is the serious problems that the people have, and how their fighting spirit is growing daily, which the People's War serves to push forward. Secondly, the very contradictions that have thrown all the existing political institutions into great turmoil.”

The Party in the United States today should not boycott the elections, one, because there is not yet a people’s war erecting socialism against the old power; and two, because there are democratic inroads the Communists can and should still make into the state; it is hardly clear that nothing else can be won, even with Trump in office. It is the duty of the Party to lead the masses in democratic struggle for civil rights, for education, for peace, for healthcare, for LGBTQIA2S+ rights, for decolonization for native and colonized nations, against racism, and so on. It is the highest duty of the Party today to fight against Trump fascism, because that is the main enemy of the proletariat today.

But if we choose to fight fascism and defend democracy, doesn’t this translate to defending the bourgeois democratic republic, against which we need to be fighting? Hasn’t anyone ever heard of doing one thing in order to do another thing later? Do we not grow food in order later to eat it, manufacture materials in order to use them up, and so on? But it’s a small problem, because the anti-fascist struggle excites the Communism of the proletariat, and if it stays within the bounds of democratic “peaceful” struggle, still the workers will gain in class consciousness. And if the issue spills over into war, the workers will taste true power in the vacuum left by the decrepit fascized republic’s defeat and dismemberment: just as in the colonial nations, so as with all nations, apparently, the thoroughgoing completion of the democratic revolution literally bleeds into the socialist revolution, as veterans of anti-fascist combat become, through war, lifelong devotees of consistent democratism, which in the end can always only mean rule by the proletariat in the contemporary context; and because of the role played - hopefully! - by the Communist Party in leading the struggle and tending to give it a revolutionary, socialist character.

Returning to the present ‘democracy’, it must be understood that we do in fact have a two-party system: the Democrats and the Republicans. Some democracy! There are hundreds if not thousands of political parties in the United States, yet only two with any national standing. Curious! And until recently they sported almost identical policies, though one covered its crimes against the people with ‘progressive’ window dressing - the Democrats - while the other, the Republicans, flaunted their viciousness openly. And what joint policy was that? Fascistic neocolonial imperialism!

Why fascistic? Because U.S. capitalism is a bloodthirsty anti-Communist animal whose rampages have killed untold millions of people - and not all Communists, for what it’s worth. This certifies U.S. capitalism’s anti-Communism, which is so crucial for a conclusion of “fascism.” The U.S. treats LGBTQIA2S+, women, racial minorities, and immigrants like second-class citizens by oppressing them in special ways and by super-exploiting them. This is not on accident, it is the design, will and desire of the governing power that women, for example, should not receive equal pay. They are not ignorant of the Equal Rights Amendment which has sat mostly dormant on government bookshelves for decades. The ruling class specifically desires this state of affairs, that much is obvious.

The U.S. has the largest per capita prison population in the world. And most of those prisoners are Black and Latino men. Well, there is a point where quantity turns into quality, and having such an enormous racialized prison population in concert with substantial ongoing racism - specifically, from the police, who politically live in the 1950’s - points to the existence of a racialized underclass, designed and enforced by the ruling class, its companies and government. True, many minorities are very successful, and integration has also been very successful. Sundown towns and businesses which outright deny service to Black people are uncommon, but hardly altogether wiped out. But the state, which retains a monopoly on armed force, through its principal violent force at home, the police, demonstrates daily to minorities everywhere in the world that they are not safe in the United States. The existence of an intentionally designed and politically sanctioned racial underclass is certainly a mark of fascism.

Then there is the militarism with its war economy and never-ending wars, the bizarre revisionist history, the ever-increasing ‘executive’ dictatorial power of the President, the frenzied official oppression of anyone who bats an eye at the regime, and the genocides - by itself another major ‘red flag’ for fascism.

This both the Democrats and Republicans have pursued. In Lance Selfa’s The Democrats: A Critical History that party’s unbecoming neoliberal racist agenda is made clear. Selfa explains, quote:

“For the historical period spanning roughly 1930 to 1980, the Democratic Party had been able to contain the demands of major social movements - including the labor movement in the 1930s and the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Living standards and social spending had risen steadily throughout the postwar economic boom, no matter which party occupied the White House. But the postwar boom came to an end in the mid-1970’s, impelling the corporate class to collectively pursue a ruthless employers’ offensive aimed at breaking the power of major industrial unions through open union-busting. [...]

This was not a temporary shift in the balance of class forces, but a turning point marking the end of the New Deal era - a move to return class inequality to its pre-Depression levels.”

That describes the Democrats’ policy toward the working class in general. Since the 1930’s we’ve seen FDR’s racist anti-Japanese internment policy and the anti-Semitic refusal to take Jewish refugees from Nazi Europe; Truman’s use of nuclear weapons against civilian targets - about which he lied and said were “military”; JFK’s Bay of Pigs invasion, the nuclear Cuban Missile Crisis standoff, and the beginning of the American bombing of Vietnam - the French bombed there first; and the full-scale invasion of Vietnam and carpet bombing of huge swaths of territory across the Southeast Asian nations under LBJ, spawning the then-popular chant and protest song, “Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?”. Under Carter we have the Iran hostage crisis, wherein Iranian revolutionaries demanded that the U.S. extradite the Shah, the brutal dictator whom the U.S. had long supported in Iran, and instead of acquiescing to these just demands, the government orchestrated what ended up being a disastrous failure of a rescue mission when a U.S. military helicopter and transport aircraft collided in the middle of a sandstorm - the crisis only ended when the revolutionaries released their hostages in exchange for the U.S. agreeing to not meddle in Iranian affairs; also under Carter, the U.S. sent military aid to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan to help the ultraconservative warlords fight against the Saur Revolution - Afghanistan’s socialist revolution - and the Soviet intervention the revolutionary government requested in fighting the warlord insurgency, i.e., it was not an invasion in the traditional sense of being unwelcome. Under Clinton we have the infamous, racist Crime Bill; the Bosnian and Kosovo Wars, in which the U.S. saw fit to conduct bombing campaigns to “stop ethnic cleansing” and instead, as noted by Noam Chomsky, apparently provoked it. After all, as Chomsky explained at the time, the bombing was motivated not at all by “humanitarian” (???) concerns but instead by the geostrategic interest of seeking to establish military-political dominance in Eastern Europe following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In the new millennium, Obama brought a continuation and an intensification of the Afghanistan and Iraq imperialist wars of aggression, which killed 3-400,000 people so that the bourgeoisie could slake their thirst for bloody vengeance against the masses for the ultimate crime of toppling their monuments to capital. The stuff about the firefighters, etc., the civilians who were hurt and killed in the second World Trade Center attacks on 9/11 is of course of serious and meaningful import for the working class and the oppressed masses. Yet demagogues, politicians and the media’s talking heads used the people’s sympathy for the devastating plight of the innocent people killed and wounded and that of heroic individuals to camouflage the presence there of Little Eichmans working in finance, fueling American imperialism with cash derived from the neocolonial robbery of the third world and to railroad mass support for the so-called “War on Terror,” which was really itself a terrorist war. At the Battle of Fallujah, U.S. imperialist forces first got their asses kicked by nationalist insurgents, and had to resort to pathetic and cowardly tactics like the use of white phosphorus, artillery shelling of neighborhoods, and colonial or fascist tactics like house-to-house raids. It’s worth it to recall that Fallujah, where as many as 1,000 or more people died, mostly from U.S. weapons, started because of the brazen demeaning and violent abuse of the population by the occupiers and their mercenaries.

We should dwell on Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq, “shock and awe” was used and the bombing of Baghdad was played out live on cable TV news to woo those wedded to the war while terrorizing the Iraqi population into submission. The U.S. senselessly and completely illegally under international law targeted civilian government buildings and made ‘legitimate military targets’ of telecom networks and power plants, bringing down the phones and the power grid, instantly pushing the country back 100 years and subjugating the population through mass immiseration. In Afghanistan the U.S. waged a pointless, confused, racist genocide, ostensibly against the Taliban, the same force and organization which they had trained, armed and equipped in the 1980’s. But then they were also fighting Al Qaeda led by one of their own former CIA agents, the infamous Osama bin Laden. In both cases they were fighting their own former allies, their own former assets, just as they did earlier with Ho Chi Minh and, in a different order of events, Pol Pot. The Taliban actually offered to hand over Osama bin Laden, but the U.S. refused the offer, and instead chose to attack Afghanistan. The whole search for bin Laden was a pointless racist, xenophobic and imperialist exercise. Why? Quite simply, both Iraq and Afghanistan hold geostrategic importance. There are market opportunities for U.S. capitalists, especially where military occupation is preferential to those interests. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were racist wars of genocide; they had no justification whatsoever. Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction except whatever the U.S. had given them in the 1980’s… when Saddam Hussein was also an ally of the United States.

Finally, under Biden, we saw the support for the Ukraine War, a war around which there has been, as usual, much propaganda. The first thing to appreciate about Ukraine is that in 2014 a gang of neofascists - Banderites - took control of the central government of Ukraine in Kiev. These Banderites hate Russians, look down on them as an inferior race of “orcs” - their word - and, as fascists, also hate Communists and the labor movement, see women’s place as being in the home, believe that total military mobilization and total war with Russia is necessary not only to “free” Ukraine but to obliterate their inferior enemy, and so on. The new government decided it would be a good idea to sign security pacts with neonazi gangs to cooperate with the police to patrol major cities; it also deployed brownshirt-like shock troops to fight labor- and left-wing protesters; it did nothing when fascist thugs massacred the trade-unionists and razed their hall at Odessa. Few bother to ask why Luhansk, Donetsk and Odesssa all opted to quit Ukraine and asked for Russian assistance. It is because fascist Ukraine, in the east, began shelling and terrorizing ethnic Russian majority towns to murder and drive out their populations, their automatic response to protests and declarations of independence from these quarters as against the Banderite histrionics of the central government. In short, Kiev began a genocide against Russians, slaughtering them in the east and the south and suppressing them and their organizations, such as the church, in the West, while promoting and celebrating Banderism and, implicitly, its role in the Holocaust.

At the same time as the U.S. supports Holocaust celebrants/Holocaust deniers in Europe, with their neofascist and neonazi units integrated directly into the army and cooperating with the police and the state, it has also supported Israel’s genocide of Palestinians beginning October 7th - as always, ultimately a vindictive, racist mass punishment for a whole society, one which has brutally massacred tens of thousands of civilians as reprisals for the Resistance’s brave and heroic offensive against the Zionist occupation. That is to say, Israel, instead of actually waging a war against Hamas’ armed wing, etc., simply wages a war against all Palestinians - just like the U.S. did in Iraq and Afghanistan against their civilian populations.

Trump just cut off all military support to Ukraine. This only shows that the greater fascist power is by no means compelled or necessarily interested to preserve its client states; two or more fascisms are not necessarily aligned. Recall the friction between Hitler and Mussolini; this is symptomatic. But simultaneously, he is resuming full military aid to Israel, which Biden had slightly reduced as a purely symbolic gesture in an attempt to quiet the pro-Palestine movement in what was really his final political hour. We see that the fascist foreign policy is aggressive, imperialistic, and portends multiple new wars: with Iran, with China, with Panama (?), with Greenland and Denmark (???), and that in most ways it aligns with liberal Democratic Party policy, although the former is naturally more wildly chauvinistic, approaching, like Hitler and Mussolini’s grand schemes, pure folly.

Democratic Party policy is not, then, democratic. It is racist, neoliberal, imperialist and genocidal. It is fascistic. So, how can the Communist Party support the Democrats? This takes us to the heart of the matter of democracy in America, and returns us to the question of the two party system. In the U.S.A. there is severe gerrymandering, a first-past-the-post electoral system in most races, a significantly undemocratic Electoral College and Supreme Court which mediate and sometimes negate the result of the popular election for the office of President, enormous corporate money in politics, and severe Taft-Hartley labor restrictions which limit the ability of unions to grow and fight hard against the exploiters, which in turn hampers their ability to influence the political sphere, weakening the proletariat’s effect altogether. There are also significant barriers to third parties' formation in order to appear on ballots, and what’s more, all or virtually all elections in the U.S. do not offer proportional party representation. Therefore third parties of any stripe have great difficulty and face many challenges in trying to gain influence, let alone win elections. They cannot be more capitalist than the capitalists, who have already organized into the Democratic and Republican Parties, into the liberals and the fascists. (The time for traditional conservatives has passed. They may perhaps reprise their role after the anti-fascist struggle, if a socialist development of that struggle is not forthcoming.)

All this means that, in most cases, it is a hopeless waste of time to campaign for election: you will lose, and you will be seen as a loser. Thus the phenomenon of perennial left-wing candidates running over and over for office and never winning. They are not building support or awareness of their cause, they are not using elections to agitate, they are using them to mislead the proletariat into pure electoralism, pure reformism and away from the revolutionary road.

Yet the very constraints on democracy in the United States, those very obstacles, double as opportunities for workers and oppressed people to struggle for our democratic rights. Thus the growing movement for abolition of the Electoral College, the Supreme Court and even the Senate. Thus the struggles against voter ID laws, against “money in politics” (whose confused advocates frequently if not always stand opposed to union money in politics, too), and more. There is democratic space for democratic struggle unlike in Peru and this is because whereas Peru was a nation being crushed under the weight of imperialist neocolonialism, the United States sports a massive middle class with democratic illusions shared by the working class and this is in turn based on the obscene wealth of the country. At root, the people know that there is wealth to be shared around within the existing state of things: there is room for reform.

This room may be evaporating as we speak, and the Communist Party will have to adjust accordingly, for if it becomes impossible to utilize the Democrats to preserve liberalism as against fascism, it is a given that the Communists will have to break from the Democrats entirely. But this is hardly clear. At the present juncture it appears that the midterms (2026) offer an opportunity for the all-people’s front strategy to carry out an electoral tactic, that of supporting liberalism en bloc to struggle against Trump fascism.

This is the crux of the matter: the Communists must support the Democrats where their candidates run opposed to fascists and where there is no viable left-wing candidate or opportunity for a CPA candidate, because in our country no other political force is really capable - yet - of confronting the fascists. Quite obviously the Democrats are hardly up to the task, however, there are simply no other alternatives at present or for the foreseeable future, until the masses have constructed the anti-fascist united front, if indeed they do. At the same time the Party must begin to move towards strategically working to win electoral power, fulfilling a kind of popular front, alongside other labor and leftist forces, for example, the Working Families Party, the Green Party, the Democratic Socialists of America, Socialist Alternative, etc. Not in order to delude the masses into thinking that socialism can be achieved through the electoral capture of political power, but in order to rally and develop the political struggle of the proletariat; to provide a platform from which to emit revolutionary propaganda; and to work to scuddle and frustrate the bourgeois state.

This has already gone on for a long time and the result has been - as Dutt, the British Communist, would have warned - the desiccation of Democratic Party liberalism and its trouncing by the fascist tide, a wave which the CPUSA recognized early, in the 1980’s. Indeed, Reagan’s coalition brought together traditional conservatives and reactionary Christians into his so-called “Moral Majority,” a coalition which would persevere and, eventually, give rise to substantial fundamentalism in the Republican Party, then the Tea Party, and finally Donald Trump and the “Make America Great Again” movement.

So ‘a broken clock is right twice a day,’ and the revisionists managed to see both the need to fight fascism and the need to continue and intensify the democratic struggle, part and parcel of the anti-fascist fight. This “tailing of the Democratic Party,” as CPUSA Co-Chair Joe Sims described it in an address to the CPUSA's National Committee in February of this year (2025), was excessive, exacerbated by the collapse of the Soviet Union, and severely perverted by the liquidationist Webbites in the early 2000’s following Gus Hall’s demise - but the basic premise was correct. It should not surprise us that reformists correctly identified opportunities for reform, that democrats aligned with the Democrats, or that anti-fascists recognized and mobilized against the threat of fascism. What is unfortunate is that the revisionist leadership of the CPUSA has apparently never come up with an end-game: if it is a two-party system, and one party is increasingly fascist while the other, while detestable, is substantially less so, such that it is common sense to choose the lesser evil, then how do we strike out independently without sabotaging the anti-fascist struggle?

The answer rests within the unfolding of that struggle. For as the fascists resort increasingly to dictatorship, lawlessness and violence, the Democrats will continue to do nothing of substance; they will refuse to use the only real weapon that exists against the fascists, the full-scale mobilization of the democratic masses, the working class and oppressed people. Why do the liberal capitalists do nothing in the face of fascism? It is because as paralytically afraid as they are of the fascists, they are even more fearful of the proletariat. The mass demonstration wave, the general strike, the insurrection - these are all out of the question. So leadership in the resistance falls to the people, and ultimately, to the Communists.

Why, how and when will the Communist Party stop supporting the Democrats electorally? The Democrats will not lead the anti-fascist struggle, so the Communists must do it, and that will entail a split from the Democrats because Democrats will refuse to support the Communists. (This is not to say that current Democratic-voting workers won’t support the Communists, we think they will in the future. This refers instead to the Democratic Party establishment, the bourgeois and petit-bourgeois political organization, not its proletarian member-by-vote, a strangely undemocratic membership system if you think about it.) Here we have our hint. It must be centered around that point at which the anti-fascist struggle becomes so pitched, so severe, so desperate that the masses dispense with the Democrats, and the Communist Party must remain alert for this change in the consciousness of the masses and must follow suit.

There are those that believe that after the last election, ‘The Democrats are finished.’ However, they may have a few more tricks up their sleeve; we should not discount the enormous power of that organization. Without a clear alternative, the masses will return to the voting booth and choose the lesser, liberal evil over Republican fascism, to the extent they are given the choice, and that is in question with Trump and the Republicans. They will not risk a third party, however righteous, to avoid at best splitting the vote. Even a third party victory is likely to be undesirable since a political minority government swamped by capitalist bastards would be stonewalled and blackballed, completely prevented from achieving anything and perhaps may even be coup’d. Trump, for his part, has no need to dissolve Congress, which supports him. The Democrat minority serves effectively as a loyal opposition. The popular front, by remaining constrained to liberal-led electoral politics and preventing the expansion of the struggle and its leadership by the Communists, is warped from a vehicle for struggle into a pacific morass, a tool of fascist rule from which a subservient, electoralist, legalist Communist Party cannot escape and cannot effectively challenge the dictatorship.

The Communist Party must, therefore, on the one hand, in the first place, support the democratic struggle of the masses against fascism, and continue to cooperate with the liberals and their Democratic Party in the all-people’s front. On the other hand, while at first the Party must defend the republic - think of Social Security, think of Medicaid - in this same all-people’s front period, and while the Party must continue to support all footholds on the state captured by the proletariat, all social reforms, etc., it must next refuse to defend the state when the masses reach the crucial revolutionary conclusion that elections are ineffective for stopping the fascist dictatorship or establishing socialism. And the Party must explain this to its ranks and to the masses, must clarify this strategy frequently, so that the people know that the Party sees the Democrats like they do, as fair-weather “friends” unwilling to put up a serious fight against the fascists, and so that the people know that the Party has a plan for upping their game against the fascists when the Democrats inevitably fall short - as they already are.

The timeline is hard to predict, but events are moving rapidly. It is conceivable that the Trump regime could somehow hamstring national elections in such a way as to make the Congress an irrelevant plaything of the dictatorship - much the way he is already treating it. Then perhaps the midterms will be irrelevant. What is the way forward when elections are basically rigged? The democratic masses will resort, we can speculate, to mass civil disobedience. Any mass protests - and they could come sooner, perhaps even this spring or summer, maybe in response to the massive cuts and tariffs which are going to provoke a terrible recession, especially for the working class and for oppressed and colonized people - may likely be met with intimidation by the National Guard, or even the declaration of martial law and the domestic deployment of the U.S. military proper, as Trump himself has threatened multiple times. Something approaching martial law occurred throughout the country when the police ran riot in city after city at his behest, combining massive arbitrary curfews with brutal police violence, although the police are overall a much weaker armed force than the military.

Such a turn of events would probably close the window for legal, and probably for peaceful, struggle, but the masses, in their peacefulness, would likely still try one last-ditch effort of mass nonviolence to win over the troops, and it could work. In Portugal, the same soldiers tasked with colonial control of the Empire in Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, and São Tomé and Príncipe supported and joined the Carnation Revolution which toppled the colonial empire, leading to quick independence for its former colonies. This was a progressive military coup d’etat, but we don’t want to see the military overthrow the fascists here, either, lest we end up with a military dictatorship, not a desirable outcome of the anti-fascist struggle.

It is possible that the liberal democracy remains in place, somehow, and in that case Trump and his ilk can be voted out at the end of his term. It sounds really nice, and it’s conceivable. If that opportunity exists, we should take it. If it doesn’t, the mass struggle will have to pursue generally illegal and, probably, increasingly violent methods, culminating in a popular anti-fascist war which, again, if led by the Communist Party, could acquire a socialist character.

Considering the inevitable failure of the Democratic bulwark, it is insufficient to lean simply on mass democratic struggle. An elevation in the consciousness and level of organization of the masses must take place. It becomes necessary in the course of the struggle against fascism to generate the anti-fascist united front to supplement and ultimately replace the all-people's front as a stronger, more firmly united coalition with greater steadfastness in the face of harsh struggle against the regime. The anti-fascist united front is the coalition of workers, unions, left-wing organizations, activists, etc. which also includes all consistently anti-fascist forces, civil society organizations, etc. which combines to carry out a coherent large-scale strategy devoted to unseating Trump and toppling his fascist regime. The united front is a project of the CPA but it is also a predictable, natural feature of the movement against fascism.

The united front, because it is comprised mainly of and led by the working class and its organizations, takes a more 'proletarian,' militant approach and may use such tactics as political strikes, occupations, mass demonstrations, and all sorts of direct actions such as sabotage, etc. The united front is the political maturation of antifa into a coherent, capable organization which can spearhead the battle against the dictatorship. The united front cannot abandon elections while a democratic window remains, but must be flexible in its tactics; it must just as much be ready and willing to abandon electoralism if or when the elections become a true fascist farce.

The split from the Democrats therefore is conditional on changed conditions. As long as current conditions pertain, then it does not make sense to change the electoral all-people’s front tactic. However, as society degenerates into fascism, the mass democratic struggle will be activated and will increasingly demand of its leadership that which is impossible for the liberal Democrats to provide, that which only the Communists can provide, and that which necessarily appears together with Communist propaganda of Communist ideas. The elections, far from being irrelevant, are, in the present period critical. Should they become irrelevant by some act of law or dictate by the President, then the democratic window closes, and the Party must lead the masses in an unrepentantly radical struggle against fascism. The Party does already take up the radical struggle now, but it is the masses who, seeing the elections transformed from a tool for reformist struggle into a tool for fascist oppression, will turn to the illegal and violent struggle - and the Party must be prepared to lead them.

This analysis sees the massive organic support for fascism in the country and evaluates the unfavorable circumstances faced by a disunited liberalism and leftism. Even the all-people’s front is so named because it cannot be called a popular front in the classic sense, since the Democrats refuse to openly work with the Communists and under only the greatest pains can be brought by mass pressure to accept working with any kind of left-wingers: there is no formal alliance between the Democrats and the Communists, it is simply the latter tailing the former. The people of this country are not organizationally prepared or properly led to be able to defeat fascism through democratic struggle. That is the fundamental lesson of Harris’ defeat: the masses could not sufficiently unite around the all-people’s front strategy, while simultaneously the fascists were united. The CPA must do everything possible to see to it that this democratic consciousness is raised, that the masses do see and understand how the constraints to our democracy force us to make the hard choice to support the Democrats for now, and that they do become organizationally prepared for mass democratic struggle.

People everywhere in the country must get organized, get active, and get out the vote while we still have a chance. This is all, however, just to defend the bourgeois republic, the bourgeois democracy, against the fascists. Should the Communists take their rightful place as the leaders of the anti-fascist struggle, it will inevitably acquire a socialist character.

If a liberal republic is restored, but the fascist menace remains, what then? The Party must now strike out independently to gather together the masses for revolutionary action. On the electoral arena of course the Party can wage its revolutionary struggle, too, up to a point. But as a Maoist Party, the electoral struggle becomes basically impossible and the Party - and by extension, the proletariat - is simply denied its right to participate in the electoral arena. So whether it is sooner by way of an anti-fascist democratic struggle, or through an anti-fascist war, or whether it is through a second democratic republic, sooner or later the Party will have to break with the Democrats, and then with elections. When the elections become irrelevant, that will be the time to boycott them, and the revolutionary war could then be in the offing.

Positions - What We Want

The CPA, as a political party in the United States, strives to take a position on all important concerns of the working class and oppressed masses in the country as well as those affected by U.S. policies abroad. What follows is a summary of our political views on these important issues.

The individual and individuals' joint efforts should enjoy and should have, in general, with certain limitations freedom of speech (excepting libel, harassment, violent threats, racism, fascism, incitement to violence or terror); freedom of the press (the same); freedom of movement; freedom to peaceably assemble, and to petition and peaceably protest the government for a redress of grievances. Fascists, capitalists, exploiters, oppressors and criminals may see some of these rights limited or revoked.

Marriage and the family should enjoy special privilege as a crucial hearthstone of collective culture. The responsibility of childrearing should be lifted from the shoulders of individual parents and shared with the community through free daycare, preschools, summer camps, primary, secondary, college and university education. Divorce should be free and simplified to allow for immediate rehousing and continued employment or receipt of benefits of separated partners. Marriage shall be legal between any two consenting adults who are not related. Polygamy shall remain illegal.

The economy should be organized on socialist lines. To end chaos in the economy, the big industries must be nationalized and centrally planned by the new, socialist state, including but not limited to finance, banking, water, electricity and power plants, coal, oil and gas, logging, commercial fishing, big agriculture, shipping, large-scale manufacturing, automobiles, construction, healthcare, education, railroads, telecommunications, arms and weapons systems manufacturing, aerospace, airlines, and spaceflight. We demand the abolition of medical, working-class consumer, and student debt.

Immigration and emigration should be free and simplified. Many ports of entry should be opened to encourage immigrants to use legal ports of entry. Preference should be given to those seeking refugee status. Immigration shall be controlled according to the economic and institutional capacity of the country, to ensure all immigrants have a fair, decent and mutually-beneficial opportunity to live, study and work in the country. Xenophobic, racist, nationalist, imperialist, chauvinist, etc. immigration bans on countries is to be abolished.

Immigrants shall be treated equally, with dignity and respect. We oppose deportation of immigrant workers. Immigrants shall be afforded full and equal legal status under the law, and shall have the right to vote, to participate in the democracy, etc. Refugees shall be given first place in seeking immigration. Undocumented immigration shall be a civil, not a criminal, matter. Citizenship shall be granted to the parents of children born in socialist America.

Non-English-speakers shall have the right to conduct work or business, receive an education and training, and to communicate with, through or as representatives of the government in their preferred language. There shall be no official language: the government shall conduct all business in the predominant language of the community it resides in, represents or is cooperating with.

Crime must be dealt with by disbanding the current inept, corrupt, ultra-violent racist gangs called the Police throughout the country and by creating a new, worker-led force which can enforce socialist laws on the local level. Enforcement should happen principally through democratic collaboration with the community with an eye towards rehabilitation of criminal elements, with force as a last resort. We demand the decriminalization, with outreach and treatment, of drug use - and the prosecution of dealers of deadly drugs such as fentanyl. We demand the legalization of recreational cannabis for adults. We demand an end to the persecution of the poor, Black, Latino, immigrant and LGBTQIA2S+ communities. We demand the prosecution and punishment of "white collar" capitalist criminals who exploit and defraud the people. We demand capital punishment for the top exploiters and oppressors, who have enriched themselves at the cost of human safety, lives and dignity and who have brought unnecessary wars and committed genocides. We demand the abolition of penitence as a method of punishment and its replacement with the principles of education, especially political education, and psychological rehabilitation. We demand the opening of social service centers dedicated to providing aid and resources to those who feel desperate and are considering property crime. There shall be programs to provide free and comprehensive vocational rehabilitation for all former criminals involved in property crime, racketeering, etc. We demand teams of worker- and prisoner-inspectors to investigate and monitor the jails and prisons for abuses. Solitary confinement and all forms of torture, abuse and mistreatment of prisoners is to be abolished. The Party recognizes the "Nelson Mandela Rules," the UN Convention on Prisoners Rights.

Housing is a human right and shall be the right of every citizen and resident of the country. All people shall be granted title to their primary homes, apartments, and condominiums. Empty houses, apartments and condominiums shall be seized by eminent domain and titles shall be granted to the homeless living on the streets, in shelters, in their vehicles, staying with friends etc. People seeking to escape abuse or domestic violence shall be granted, overnight, new homes. Mansions shall be seized from their owners and converted into vacation homes and hotels for the working class.

Religion must be free to be taught and practiced, independent of the state, by individuals and groups. Religious schools shall not be allowed to replace or substitute for public education, however, religious schools must have the right to teach and operate outside of public school hours. Comparative, scientific and historically-based religious studies shall be taught in the public schools so that students may learn about all kinds of religions, however, religious instruction in public schools shall be prohibited. The state shall be secular and shall not give preference to, participate in or celebrate any religious rite, holiday, etc. Religious groups shall be afforded the right to hold their processions, to demonstrate, etc. Religious sects shall have the right to their own facilities, etc., however these must be open to inspection by the government to ensure lawfulness and especially to prevent abuse. The practice of referring to God, to prayers, etc. shall be fully ended with regards to all government operations, meetings, to money, etc.

Native nations and colonies including, for example, Navajo Nation and Puerto Rico, must have the right to full national independence, up to and including secession. We demand an end to American domination of all colonized and native nations including, but not limited to, Navajo Nation, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the "U.S." Virgin Islands. All deals negotiated between the U.S. or U.S. businesses and native nations or businesses in native nations shall be renegotiated by the socialist state and substantial land area shall be ceded to native nations. The racist and genocidal Reservation system shall be abolished, native nations shall have the right to full self-government, to the formation of their own state, their own currency etc., up to and including the right of full national independence and secession.

Native Americans and the colonial population are specially-oppressed people in the U.S. system who are targeted not only with imperialism and colonialism but also racism. This exploitation and oppression must end. We demand reparations for Native Americans and the colonized peoples of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the "U.S." Virgin Islands. We demand a special program to find missing persons, who are disproportionately Native Americans. We demand the right for native peoples to receive education and training in their native language and we demand special state cultural institutions be set up to preserve and restore Native American and colonized people's language, culture and history.

Workers are the bedrock of our society and the cornerstone of our strategy. We demand that the working class to be brought to political power in the form of a system of workers' councils, comprised of workers elected by their coworkers in their workplaces, where the people are free to speak out. We demand full employment and provision of full benefits for all those in-between jobs or unable to work. We demand government and union cooperative hiring halls and for automatic government outreach to and quick and easy job placement for those out of work. We demand teams of worker-inspectors with the right to inspect any workplace for health or safety hazards or violations or labor law violations. We demand a shortening of the normal workday to six hours and the normal workweek to four days. We demand the that overtime is to be pegged to the total hours worked by the worker, not for a given employer. We demand the abolition of tipping and the provision of living wages to tipped workers, and to agricultural workers and all workers. We demand the abolition of forced labor in prison, for competitive wages for prisoners, and for the right of prisoners to form trade-unions. We demand the decriminalization of sex work, and for the right for sex workers to form unions; but we demand prosecution of pimps and other exploiters. We demand the right of workers to elect their own management and to elect to democratically manage their own firms, within the structure and with the leadership of the state, unless it is a small business. We demand a rise in the minimum wage to $20 per hour for all workers. We demand all workers to be paid every week on Friday by 5PM. We demand the abolition of pay cards which charge fees for withdrawal of wages. We demand that all workers regardless of citizenship or immigration status to be able to collect all the benefits enjoyed by other workers. Benefits such as healthcare, etc., to be provided to all people for free irrespective of job. We demand an end to the application/resume/cover-letter system and the creation of a national labor database to store and track work history in order to simplify the process of changing jobs. Through this system, unemployment and disability benefits will be provided automatically - but there shall be a remedial way for the worker who has 'fallen through the cracks' to apply for services, etc.

Unions We demand an end to the Taft-Hartley Act and to all anti-union legislation. We demand the right of unions to strike and occupy, including political strikes and solidarity strikes. We demand the right of all workers, including prison workers, agricultural workers, and sex workers, to join unions. We demand all private companies to be required to have workers or union representatives with full voting and veto power on their executive boards. We demand workers democratic control of the unions including if necessary forced de-bureaucratization and forced de-corruption by the state. We call for the formation of a Party-led labor syndicate to unite all union workers in the country.

People with disabilities shall be treated with fairness, dignity and respect and shall receive full and proper accommodations for all of their needs from employers, the government and all businesses and institutions which serve the public. We demand a massive program of public works to make socialist America fully accessible for the blind, for the deaf, and for the physically, mentally and behaviorally differently-abled. Disability payments equal to 100% of average lifetime pay or the average national income for a worker - whichever is higher - shall be paid weekly on Fridays by 5PM. Access to temporary and permanent disability shall be simplified and de-bureaucratized.

Women shall receive equal pay for equal work and shall have equal rights, treatment and opportunities in all spheres of life. Gender discrimination shall be abolished. Women shall have the right to birth-control and to abortion. Extended fully-paid parental leave, full-time free childcare, affordable public restaurants, and free public laundries shall be provided to the community in order to help alleviate the burden of child-rearing on working-class women. Rapid and responsive law enforcement intervention in abusive or violent domestic situations to remove the perpetrator and protect women in their homes, or rapid, overnight rehousing in a new home if the survivor chooses. Investigate and prosecute all crimes against women and all sex crimes, sexual assault, etc. Abolish the sexualization of women in advertising, sports, media, fashion, etc. We support programs to encourage women to enter into trades and professions.

Youth Abolish child labor except as part of education and training. All youth shall have the right to good and loving homes and childcare from their parents, guardians or the state, or on their own recognizance from age 16 in certain circumstances. All youth shall have the right to an education, including skills-training. Abolish child marriage "betrothals." Abolish the sexualization of children in media. Healthcare shall include free yearly checkups to screen youth for illnesses and disorders which affect young people. Circumcision of children, unless medically necessary, shall be abolished as a form of mutilation.

Students Students shall have the right to a full and complete education, taught on a fully scientific, Marxist basis. We call for the formation of student governments in public schools at all levels, with representatives in the school administration. Students shall have the right to form unions, the right to strike, and the right to occupy. Students shall have the right to protest and petition their administration for a redress of their grievances. Students shall not be pressed into labor service, or into military service except in the event of invasion. Anyone shall have the right to become a student to continue their education up to and including a Masters in their field.

Seniors Seniors shall occupy a special place of respect under socialism, and shall be provided with the best opportunities for good living, especially for traveling. Seniors shall have the right to live in their homes, with support from the state, or if they choose, to live in housing community or in a state home for seniors. Seniors shall be entitled to good care and state homes must be overseen by local investigative committees to prevent or identify abuse. Seniors shall have a state discount on all prices. Seniors shall be provided with doctors' home visits if needed.

Retirees The retirement age shall be set at 55. All retirees shall collect a state pension, paid weekly, at 100% of their average lifetime wage, with adjustments for cost-of-living. Retirees shall not be forced back into work due to poverty: the state will provide.

Black Americans shall be treated equally, with dignity and respect. Black Americans shall all and each be paid cash reparations for suffering racism and discrimination. Descendants of slaves shall be paid a substantial, additional amount, to be worked out by the socialist government in concert with Black communities. Affirmative action programs shall be restored and expanded to right the historical wrong of Black oppression and slavery. Incarcerated Black political prisoners are to be freed; Black people convicted by white juries and/or judges are to be freed; Black inmates who proclaim their innocence are to be afforded new trials by a jury of their peers, Black and working-class people.

Latinos and Chicanos shall be treated equally, with dignity and respect. Latinos and Chicanos shall all and each be paid cash reparations for suffering racism and discrimination.

Arab Americans and Middle-Easterners shall be treated equally, with dignity and respect. Arab Americans and Middle-Easterners shall all and each be paid cash reparations for suffering racism and discrimination.

Asian Americans shall be treated equally, with dignity and respect. Japanese and Chinese Americans shall be paid cash reparations for suffering racism, and for the historical impacts of suffering internment in the case of the Japanese community and for forced labor in the construction of the trans-continental railroad in the case of the Chinese community.

LGBTQIA2S+ people shall be treated equally, with dignity and respect. They shall have the right to buy and sell on the market, especially, no business or government body may deny service to anyone on the basis of their gender, gender expression, gender identity or sexuality. They shall have the right to marry and divorce, to serve in the military, to use the restroom suited to their gender or gender-identity, and to participate in sports. They shall have full and equal rights to healthcare, education, etc. We demand full funding into research to develop a cure for HIV/AIDS and free provision of anti-retroviral or other necessary drugs to all those in need. We demand that full and complete healthcare and social support for trans people including social transition, puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgery

Small businesses Small business is an important part of American culture and the small-business market can help to enliven, through regulated competition, the economy by quickly bringing new products and services to the market. Small business serves the economy by filling the gaps that large industry cannot fill or has difficulty filling. The state will help small businesses with loans, counseling and services to make starting and running a small business easy. Fees for permits for small businesses are to be abolished. Small businesses must follow all labor, health and safety, environmental and business laws. Small business owners with employees are nevertheless exploiters and the policy of the state shall be to discourage exploitation (employment of wage-labor for profit) through encouraging collectivization by the workers or sale of the business to the state. Small businesses shall be immune from involuntary nationalization except where the business is found to be consistently and incorrigibly violating the laws, or where the owner is found to be a fascist, terrorist etc.

Art We demand a home and a living wage for all artists. Artists and art groups including painters, sculptors, musicians, graphic artists, authors, content creators, etc. shall be protected in their free speech and freedom of expression, except that fascist and counter-revolutionary "art" shall be banned. Artists shall be eligible for state employment in bands, artists collectives, etc. or as individual artists. Sexuality in art is to in general be preserved, but the sexualization of women in commercial advertising shall be banned.

Money is to be limited to a form of currency decided on by the new state, likely a socialist "dollar". Money is to be issued and regulated by the state. 10% shall be the established usury interest limit on loans of any type. Non-state currencies may only be traded at state currency exchanges; businesses, government bodies etc. must recognize and exclusively use the new state's currency. Wages and salaries shall be paid either in cash, check, a free pay card issued by the state, or direct deposit into the earner's account(s), according to the wishes of the worker or professional. The people shall have the right to unlimited private savings of taxed earnings from wages, salaries, and to taxed profits of small businesses earned after the revolution. We demand price controls on basic goods and foodstuffs, the abolition of most government fees and fines, and the abolition of entry fees for public events such as sports events, concerts, etc. and their full funding with state support. Money shall no longer be the basis of special class treatment in dining, air travel, etc.: while money may buy luxury goods it may not buy luxury treatment, treatment of all people shall be equal. In the event of a collapse of the money supply, consumers use of foreign currency to acquire basic goods and services shall be a violation of civil law; business, industry and state use of foreign currency outside of the allowed channels shall be a violation of criminal law.

Christians Religious rights are to be in large part preserved. Christian home-schooling where it replaces public schooling is to be abolished, in other words, religious home-schooling should be allowed after public-school hours. Christian influence on the state - encouraging prisoners to take up Christianity, inclusion of God on money and the practice of swearing on the Bible in official government business, etc. - is to be abolished. Churches which abuse their rights to promulgate anti-socialism, etc., forfeit their religious rights and risk being shut down.

Muslims Muslims are a persecuted minority in the United States. We stand with the Muslim community against all racist, xenophobic and imperialist attacks from the US government, the right wing, and from any corner of society. Muslims are to be treated with equality, dignity and respect. Religious rights are to be in large part preserved. We oppose religious schooling or religious home-schooling where it replaces public schooling. Religious law is allowed where it does not conflict with state laws. Mosques which abuse their rights to promulgate anti-socialism, etc., forfeit their religious rights and risk being shut down.

Jewish people We stand with Jewish people against anti-Jewish racism. We also do not consider anti-Zionism to be a form of anti-Semitism: Zionism is a fascist, colonialist and racial-supremacist ideology which undergirds Israel as a Jewish ethnonationalist settler-colonial genocidal apartheid fascist state. We believe the solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict is the liquidation of the Israeli state, the creation of one democratic socialist Palestinian state with equal rights for all, and the right of return for Palestinian refugees. We reject the Nazi conspiracy theories about Jewish control of the capitalist class and point to the capitalist-imperialists multi-national, multi-ethnic, multiracial, multi-religious makeup all over the world. We oppose Jewish schools or home-schooling as an alternative to public schools. Temples which abuse their rights to promulgate anti-socialism, etc., forfeit their religious rights and risk being shut down.

The military shall be comprised entirely of volunteers, to be paid a living wage, except in the event of invasion, in which case a draft may be issued. Soldiers, sailors, etc. should have the right - even and especially in wartime - to discuss and dispute orders and war plans except in true emergencies, within reason. Soldiers, sailors etc. shall have the right to elect their own officers, but not necessarily their own top commanders. Soldiers, sailors, etc., shall have the right to strike in wars of aggression but not in wars of national defense. In peacetime the military shall be mobilized as needed as a dynamic labor force to supplement industry. The workers shall retain the right to form militias for the protection of their communities, enforcement of socialist laws, defense against tyranny, etc. Militias found to be plotting terror, etc. will lose their militia rights.

Democracy in the United States today is of a limited capitalist type and is characterized by gerrymandering, the first-past-the-post system, and capitalist money in politics. Nevertheless, substantial democratic progress has been won by the working class and oppressed people from the ruling class since the foundation of the republic, and it may be possible for more to be won through hard democratic struggle. That is why we uphold the democratic struggle as a major component of our strategy, and we say that the current period in the United States, because of the internal dynamics of the country, is a period of basically democratic struggle versus the Trump fascist dictatorship. We call for strategically voting for liberals, and progressives and leftists where possible, and for participation in mass demonstrations, as part of the all-people's front to bring down Trump fascism. At the same time, we call for the formation of an anti-fascist united front which can unite the working class in the struggle against fascism, and which can prepare the way for an eventual revolutionary united front that can usher in the socialist revolution. We advocate the use of elections of revolutionaries in the current climate to serve as a platform from which to propagandize and as a means to frustrate the capitalist government's exploitative, oppressive and colonialist efforts, and to help bring about reforms, to a certain extent, with the important understanding that elections to the capitalist government cannot possibly bring the Communist Party to power nor bring about a socialist revolution in America.

Liberalism and the Democratic Party Liberalism in America has yielded to fascism because liberalism, especially neoliberalism, sows the seeds of fascism: poverty and exploitation combined with rampant militarism, chauvinism and nationalism. Liberal capitalism's crimes against the people are vast and innumerable, and all this has set the stage for and emboldened the fascists. The Democrats as well as the Republicans have overseen countless horrific atrocities, overseen genocides, etc. A section of the people's movement nevertheless is connected with the Democratic Party as the only large-scale viable alternative to the Republican Party. We call for the movement to withdraw its connections with the Democratic Party and we call on the movement to begin to center itself around the Communist Party as the party of the working class and of the oppressed masses. At the same time, we call on the movement to vote strategically, collectively as a popular front to elect anti-fascist candidates and to block fascist candidates. As the democratic window closes, we will withdraw our support for strategic voting and election tactics in favor of more acute forms of struggle as necessary.

The left is at present generally inert from a revolutionary standpoint, capable of doing a lot of good but not capable of the central task, leading a socialist revolution. Many criticisms of individual left organizations appear earlier in this Program. The central problems facing the left today are fourfold: one, they do not recognize the need for socialist revolution, so two, they do not recognize the need for a people's war, which, three, means they do not reach the conclusion that they should operate clandestinely or, four, as a cadre organization which militarizes in due time. Despite this, we must strive to unite the left along with the rest of the working class in the anti-fascist united front against Trumpism. At the point when the fascists have been defeated, the anti-fascist united front should set its sights on the socialist revolution, becoming the revolutionary united front, centered around the leadership of the Communist Party.

The "center" and the right America's political "center," the moderates, is right-wing. It supports capitalism, imperialism, colonialism and neocolonialism. It supports penitence and the carcereal, racist state. The center is made up mostly of middle class people. Despite this, we seek to cooperate with the center in the all-people's front against Trump fascism. We also seek cooperation, where possible, even with conservative Republicans, against the dictatorship, although we do not put much faith or stock in the conservatives at all.

MAGA fascism must be completely crushed. It is characterized by racism, chauvinism, extreme nationalism, authoritarianism, anti-immigrant sentiment, and illiberalism. MAGA Republicans, starting with the President and his Cabinet, must be forced from office. MAGA fascism is to be banned under socialism.

The Trump dictatorship must be combated by any means necessary. The capitalist democratic republic cannot be allowed to fall to fascism. If democratic, legal, peaceful means do not result in the end of the dictatorship, we call on the people to resort to sabotage and force of arms if necessary to unseat the dictator and restore the democracy.

The state We demand the abolition of the Presidency, the Electoral College, the Senate, House and all institutions and organizations of the capitalist state and we demand the violent destruction of the capitalist democratic republic and its revolutionary replacement by a democratic socialist republic comprised of local and regional workers councils, including a supreme workers council to govern the country, all elected by and from among workers in their workplaces on the basis of proportional party representation by way of ranked-choice voting. We demand the abolition of first-past-the-post voting. We demand a system of checks-and-balances with popularly elected judges and heads of law enforcement.

Politics shall take place on a civil, democratic and legal basis, through directly-democratic or through representative organs of the state, as well as through independent political parties. The right of the people to form, join, lead their own, participate in etc. political parties shall not in general be abridged by the state except where a party has adopted terrorist, fascist, anti-socialist etc. stances, in which case they forfeit their political rights. The Communist Party shall not retain a complete monopoly on power, however, no party may directly or indirectly challenge the basic socialist laws which establish the planned nationalized economy, the four-day workweek, universal healthcare, etc.

Internationalism is core to the Communist Party's beliefs. We demand withdrawal from NATO, the WTO and the IMF and all imperialist, neocolonialist, etc. blocs and agreements, especially those which provide assistance such as but not limited to military supervision, training, equipment, or in particular arms to fascist, imperialist, genocidal, or Zionist forces or groups. We demand the withdrawal of the military from around the world to within the boundaries of the continental United States. We demand fair, just trade with all countries. We demand an end to the interference in the internal affairs of foreign countries. We oppose trade and/or diplomatic relations with fascist states and personal or military dictatorships. We demand Palestine's liberation and support the destruction of the Israeli state with the right of return. We support the Axis of Resistance against the Zionist entity, Israel. We support Russia-Belarus-North Korea in the Russo-Ukraine War of liberation from Ukrofascism. We support and seek friendship and alliance with the five socialist states: Democratic ("North") Korea, China, Cuba, Vietnam and Laos. We support the People's Wars in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Colombia, India, Peru, the Philippines, and Turkey. We call for international solidarity with all revolutionary Communist movements worldwide, and for international solidarity with the labor movement and the people's struggles, especially the struggles of indigenous peoples, colonized peoples, peasants, the poor, the landless, and the lower classes of the whole world.

Transportation We demand the abolition of mass individualized car ownership as a requirement of survival, and its replacement with nationalized, free, reliable, universal public transportation which integrates taxis, ride-hailing services and multimodal transportation. We demand the wide-scale implementation of driverless technology, especially in taxis and ride-hailing services. We demand a program of high-speed "bullet train" passenger rail construction throughout the country. We demand special driver education and licensing for oversized SUVs. We demand the nationalization of the auto industry.

Gun ownership shall be restricted to those who have received and are certified in gun safety and who properly and safely store their firearms.

Culture America needs a cultural revolution to destroy imperialist, colonialist and neocolonialist, racist and neo-Confederate culture and to establish socialist culture. Reactionary statues and symbols should be destroyed or placed in museums, as the people see fit. Commercial advertising must be radically reshaped to directly, simply, honestly, and truthfully promote products and services. Commercial advertising for products which are bad for the health and wellness of the people, such as soda, candy, alcohol and tobacco, is to be abolished. The state shall steer culture away from individualism and consumerism and towards collectivism and cooperation.

Health & Wellness shall be promoted and supported by the socialist state. All people shall have the right to free, comprehensive, universal healthcare, including preventive care, dental care, vision, mental healthcare, care for physical disabilities, etc. No one shall be denied care for any reason. All people shall be encouraged to go to yearly check-ups with their doctor to monitor their health. We demand the abolition of health insurance and for the direct, free provision of care to the public, to be paid for by the state. We demand the right to choose one's own doctor. We demand a comprehensive, age- and ability-based, state-backed sleep, diet, and exercise regimen for all people, including the provision of free, collective "personal trainers" for the community through community health centers and in cooperation with care teams to provide the best health guidance for individuals. We demand a "food pyramid" which emphasizes a proper, healthy diet in an ethical context. We demand that the state to support and encourage veganism and vegetarianism as ethical alternatives to meat-eating, complete with scientific education on animal consciousness. We demand free and preventive intervention to identify and treat mental and behavioral disorders, and the decriminalization of people suffering from mental health episodes: except when a person is armed, health workers, not law enforcement, should respond. Children should be limited in how much digital media they consume on a daily basis, and guidelines provided for adults. Public pools, community centers with gyms, sports and meeting facilities, etc. should be opened everywhere, especially in small and poor communities.

Science and Technology Socialist society shall exist on a generally secular, scientific basis, guided by scientific theories, formulas and facts. Science shall occupy a special place in socialist culture, with full funding for scientific research in all fields. Technology shall be exploited to the fullest to reduce the intensity of work, to reduce working hours, to allow more workers to retire earlier, and to produce and provide more for the people, to facilitate better communication, transportation, living, etc.

Animals and pets Zoos, vivisection and all forms of animal experimentation are to be abolished. Wild animals shall have the right to life and liberty. Pets are to be afforded special rights, care and state supervision to ensure proper care and treatment. The extent of what is considered to be animal abuse is to be expanded to include forced isolation of pets such as dogs for periods longer than 4 hours, in the case of dogs, but varying according to the animal. Abuse shall also include failure to regularly let the dog or other animal run 'free' in a safe environment such as a dog park, etc. The state shall provide safe and secure parks for all pet owners to satisfy this requirement. Different species and types of animals will require different types of laws. Punishment for pet abuse shall be equal to punishments for child abuse.

The environment shall be protected and significantly restored through massive works to restore forested areas, wetlands, etc., through measures to protect the environment from industrial and commercial pollution, etc. We demand bans on fracking, mountaintop removal, and all large-scale pollution. We demand nationalization of the coal, oil and gas industries. We demand nationalization and massive curtailment of the logging industry. We demand a permanent ban on the logging of all old-growth forests. We demand that socialist America participate in international plans to address the climate and ecological catastrophe facing our planet. We demand a socialist "Green New Deal" which massively expands the use of nuclear and of renewable energy resources and for vocational rehabilitation of coal, oil and gas workers. Agriculture shall be transitioned to a sustainable, ecologically-integrated model that preserves the water, soil and natural environment. Deindustrialized ruins, empty parking lots, etc., where industry or commerce cannot be restored, shall be torn down and the natural environment restored. Significant resources shall be devoted to the scientific study of science and nature.

Ocean and space exploration shall be conducted on a chiefly scientific and internationalist, non-commercial basis, for the benefit of humanity and continued life on Earth and in the universe. Commercial exploitation of the oceans and resources in space shall be limited to protect life, potential life, and the natural environment. We should seek to colonize the Moon, etc., with the aim of eventually colonizing an Earthlike planet in another star system to ensure the long-term survival of the human race in the universe and to continue the endless process of learning about our universe.

Sports shall be freely open to all people to enjoy and participate in: the state shall subsidize, support and direct as necessary sporting in all spheres. Free public sports leagues should be set up by the government in all locales. Special provisions shall be introduced into sports rules to allow for the fair and equal participation of trans athletes. Gambling with or for money shall be made illegal. Sports involving animals (horse-racing, dog-racing, dog-fighting, rodeos, dog competitions, etc.) are to be abolished as a form of involuntary servitude.

Sex We demand universal, comprehensive, scientific sex education and the free provision of condoms and birth control medicines. We demand the abolition of sex work, including pornography and prostitution, through decriminalization of sex workers and prosecution of pimps, "Johns", etc., with vocational rehabilitation for prostitutes, porn actors, etc. We demand the abolition of "Romeo and Juliet" laws and the establishment of the age of consent at 18 everywhere in the country and for all people regardless of culture, religion etc. Pornographic material (not live actors) shall be regulated to prohibit promotion of objectification of women, violence against women, incest, and child abuse.

Citizenship shall entail the obligation on the part of all able-bodied citizens to either attend school, enter a trade, enter a profession, otherwise gain employment or enter the military; to vote in all elections where the citizen resides; to respect and obey the laws of socialist America; to pay one's taxes; to serve, if called, on a jury of peers in a trial court; and, with the exception of students (except in the event of invasion), to serve, if called by draft, in the military.

Death Funerals shall be paid for by the state. Medically-assisted suicide for those in situations of extreme and medically hopeless suffering shall be legalized. Suicidality is to be decriminalized and treated as a medical, mental health crisis. Life insurance as such shall be abolished; the state shall issue payments to the surviving family of the deceased according to the income lost by the family.

Inheritance, except for family keepsakes such as journals, photographs, treasures with symbolic, cultural or familial value, up to and including for example automobiles, shall be abolished, and the wealth of the deceased transferred to the state minus payments to the family equal to wages lost. No family and no-one shall be allowed to suffer unnecessarily due to the loss of a family member: the state will provide.

The rich - billionaires and millionaires - are to be expropriated and forced to enter into the workforce as useful members of society, except that they may keep whatever wealth they acquired by wages. The property of all rich emigrants is to be seized by the state.

Goals - What We'll Do

1. Build the Party. In the first stage, the focus is on internal development of the Party apparatus, its collectives, organizations, etc.

2. Educate, agitate, and organize the masses. As the Party grows it can begin to educate, agitate and organize the masses. This is necessary to raise the class-consciousness of the masses, itself necessary for the successful carrying-out of the united front against fascism.

3. Construct the anti-fascist united front. With a vibrant, influential Party, the Party can spearhead the construction of the anti-fascist united front, guiding its development.

4. Capture elected state power to some extent. Together with the united front, we will compete in elections to capture state power, positions from which we will promote the socialist revolution, struggle to enact progressive reforms, and work to frustrate and scuttle the plans and workings of the capitalist government.

5. Defeat the Trump dictatorship and the fascist movement. With the combined might of the all-peoples front and the anti-fascist united front, the masses will crush Trump fascism, rescue the democracy, prove to themselves their organizational and fighting capacity, enshrine in them a certain degree of class-consciousness and lay the basis for the revolutionary war for socialism.

6. Prepare for the People's War. The Communist Party will prepare to lead the masses in the socialist revolutionary war, by teaching military schools to the working class, by constructing working class militias, and by then forming up the units of the people's guerrilla army.

7. Initiate the people's war for socialist revolution. At an opportune time, when the masses cry out for it, when the situation demands it, when the Party has prepared for it and the people's guerrilla army is ready, the Party shall launch the protracted people's war of combined urban and rural guerrilla warfare to finally bring about a socialist revolution in America.

8. Build revolutionary base areas with the incipient new state. At first, no territory will be held. Then, territory will be captured only to be traded with the enemy. In time, however, some territory will be permanently captured for the revolution, and it is in these areas that the first revolutionary socialist Base Areas will be constructed, with the incipient new state, the socialist state, in power. Thus even before the conclusion of the war some of the people will enjoy the fruits of victory: socialism.

9. No peace until victory. The U.S. must be totally defeated, its surrender unconditional. The U.S. state long ago forfeited all rights to existence, and the continued existence of the U.S. state cannot be entertained by American revolutionaries.