RCI Conclusion & Takeaways
My top 10 takeaways from the Revolutionary Communist International
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Second, I did get some hate mail from the Revolutionary Communist International (RCI) posts, and want to make it clear that I am not a communist. I am not saying these things in the posts — I am reporting to you what they said during this conference.
Third, some of these presentations were actually informative and entertaining. I learned a lot more about the history of Marxist revolution and what Marxist-Leninists and Trotskyists believe today. Frankly, the inside history of the Bolshevik Revolution(s) was the best part of the RCI.
Now onto the real stuff… My top 10 takeaways are divided into five general observations and then another five on how I assess the RCI and Revolutionary Communists of America (RCA) political party.
General Observations
Most of the presentations were professional and academic while others were just anti-capitalist gripe-fests that added no value. One thing both types of presenters had in common was a certain tone deaf attitude towards capitalism and communism.
For instance, the number of people killed under capitalism led to condemnation of capitalism as a whole. Mass executions and violations of first principles during Bolshevik rule were quietly explained away as not ideal, but required to defend the Revolution. Also, critics of communism ‘live in small bubbles and echo-chambers’ while Marxists have the only, truly accurate perspective of the real world.
I now understand why “real communists” say that “real communism has never been tried,” or some variation of that argument.
In the later years of Vladmir Lenin, Josef Stalin was rising through the ranks and gaining more power. He was apparently adept at creating and then controlling bureaucracy. At one point, Lenin even appointed Stalin to a directorate to cut down on bureaucracy, which Stalin promptly used to build more bureaucratic power. And eventually Stalin became a successor-figure to Lenin (glossing over lots of history here).
Over roughly the same period, Trotsky was sidelined as Lenin’s successor. Not only did Trotsky eventually lose all power, but he was kicked out of the party and sent into exile.
For today’s RCI, Trotsky embodied the “true communism” that should have succeeded Lenin, had not Stalin eventually taken over. Thus, Stalin was bad and represents the degeneration of true communism, therefore, true communism has never been tried.
At multiple points during the RCI, speakers brought up some similarities between the populist Right’s opposition to the ruling class and the socialist/communist Left’s opposition to the same ruling class. There were no outstretched arms offered, but there were exhortations to win over the entirety of the working class, no matter their current political beliefs.
The very last speaker brought up the challenge of communicating communist principles in simple, clear terms. He said that this was a primary challenge for the growth of the RCI. Other speakers encouraged attendees to read book after book in order to understand true Leninist/Trotskyist communism.
Low IQ people can grok “Rich people have more than me, and that makes me a victim of capitalism.” My takeaway is that the RCI is happy to have these types of members, but they want revolutionary cadres steeped in Marxist theory on the contradictions of capitalism.
Finally, there was a fair amount of gatekeeping the RCI as the only “true” communist party. While the RCI was an international event, one member of the Revolutionary Communists of America (RCA) criticized other communists parties like Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and Revolutionary Communists, USA (RevCom) are just other liberal parties that back Joe Biden and the Democrats.
Upon the launch of RCA, I thought to myself, “Does the U.S. really need another communist party? There are already two.” And apparently it does because neither of them are real communist parties.
Conclusion/Assessment
On Crisis Exploitation: One major theme this year — not just from RCA but from CPUSA and other socialist parties — is the opportunity for growth during the coming collapse.
The dual crisis of capitalism and democracy were themes for several speeches. This dual crisis is leading to polarization of the middle, pushing voters to the extremes, both Left and Right. This represents a growth opportunity as more Americans (and citizens internationally) feel they’re not being represented by establishment political parties and begin seeking alternatives. There was an element of fanaticism around this belief that world revolution was inevitable, and that this polarization and sorting towards the extremes is just the beginning.
There’s even an historical precedent for these predictions of collapse: by the Third International of 1919, many socialists believed the collapse of capitalism was imminent and that world revolution was around the corner. That’s not too dissimilar an opinion from what I got from these speakers. At the time, Lenin agreed that capitalism was in crisis, but that it would recover.
The overwhelming feeling was that world revolution is in an early phase, maybe a pre-phase. I also got the impression that several speakers believe that the West is heading towards a precipice where war breaks out between Right and Left. One speaker actually says it’s too early to start arming the workers against fascism because the revolution is not advanced enough.
On Cadres: The building of revolutionary cadres was another major theme. According to one speaker, revolutions will happen regardless of whether the socialists are ready, so it’s up to the revolutionary party to build revolutionary cadres.
These cadres act as guides or functionaries of the revolutionary party, and who organize, train, and oversee the building of the masses in preparation for mobilization or insurrection.
The founding of the RCI this year is in preparation to build sections (national chapters) around the world to carry out world socialist revolution. Many of the speeches centered on Marxist theory and education, and the need to develop these revolutionary cadres so they can go out and recruit and educate new members.
I hate to use this term, but it’s almost an apostolic approach to the spread of communism and world revolution.
On Recruitment Strategy: A focus on engaging young people and recruiting at college campuses dominated the second half of the conference. Establishing a youth wing of the party, the creation of education opportunities for youth groups, and the use of social media are all part of this youth outreach strategy.
Another part of the recruitment strategy includes strengthening ties with labor unions and other working class organizations. Uniting the working class against the ruling class and its defenders (e.g., the populist right and fascists) is a strategic imperative.
On Localism: There were also efforts to encourage members (e.g., cadre) to focus on building local movements that address the local needs of local people.
Although the RCI exists at the international level, at least two speakers cited Lenin’s instructions to critically analyze and accurately assess the strength and quality of socialist movements within members’ own countries.
For instance, cadre need to accurately understand how the working class views the Revolutionary Communist Party, along with the specific political, social, and economic conditions that affect the working class. Only then can contradictions of capitalism be exploited.
On Propaganda: Finally, the whole thing that ties this all together is the creation and distribution of anti-capitalist propaganda. In order to unite the working class under a single banner of revolution, communists need to remove divisions within the working class.
This is partly why so-called anti-fascist organizing is also an imperative. Reformers act as defenders of the ruling class (i.e., they disavow revolution), but it’s the fascists that actively divide the working class along issues of race/ethnicity, immigration status, etc. Destroying fascists is a decisive action that removes class divisions and enables the unification of workers and therefore revolution.
Propaganda is a tool/weapon that can unite the working class in class struggle, and undermine the fascist arguments of division. Or so their argument goes.
Lastly, as a bonus point: the entire RCI is only ~8,000 members, and RCA says they have about 800 members spread across 90 branches (chapters). That’s an average of fewer than 10 members per chapter.
Small potatoes, right? Virtually nothing.
The RCA is not going to gain mass popularity. At best, they’ll compete with CPUSA, RevCom, Party for Socialism and Liberation, or maybe Democratic Socialists of America for a very small number of political seats in the local elections of only the most extreme progressive U.S. cities.
I bring them up not because of their potential electoral power (which is nonexistent), but because of their social potential.
I agree with them that polarization is cutting both ways, pushing self-described centrists to the Left or Right, and pushing the progressive left wing and dissident right wing to more extreme positions.
That there is another revolutionary communist party dedicated to youth outreach, localized recruitment, and national party-building is a concern.
Extreme political ideologies do not grow in healthy societies. Their existence is a symptom of a society in crisis. I will agree with them there.
Worsening stagflation, a financial crisis, another war, a failed election, a terror attack, a sharp turn towards authoritarianism — any single event or combination thereof could ignite the virality of revolutionary ideas.
I’ll end the RCI coverage with this post, and get back to posting about States and Social Revolutions next week. You can read the first post on this book here: https://grayzoneresearch.substack.com/p/a-general-theory-of-revolution
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