The CP, the Sixties, the RCP, and the Crying Need for a Communist Vanguard Party Today

kites journal #8

by Organization of Communist Revolutionaries

This issue of kites consists entirely of a major new document from the Organization of Communist Revolutionaries, The CP, the Sixties, the RCP, and the Crying Need for a new Communist Vanguard Party Today: Summing up a century of communist leadership, organization, strategy, and practice in the United States so that we can rise to the challenges before us.

kites is a journal of communist theory and strategy for revolution focused on North America. It emerged in 2020 from the initiative of two organizations: Revolutionary Initiative (RI) in Canada and the Organization of Communist Revolutionaries (OCR) in the US. Its Editorial Committee is composed of a few communist revolutionaries from across North America, and operates as an independent entity.

573 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Stephen CM · Rating 3 out of 5]

The positives are the writers’ humble but uncompromising commitment to making revolution in the US. Likewise, the authors make clear their conviction as internationalists and they don’t pretend that communism (or socialism) exists in China. Finally, they are unsparing in the critique of the Left as it exists in the US. The Left is a disorganized, hodge podge of activists that mostly tail the left wing of capital.

I also have critiques or points of departure with the OCR.
The authors point to a “science of revolution” that the vanguard can apply. I don’t think there is a science of revolution and I think this approach could lead one to instrumentalize the proletariat. Revolution is made by the movement of classes within society, with the creativity generated by individuals in common struggle. What role do revolutionaries play in this? Good question. Something something about conveying lessons from history and applying our knowledge of science, critique and political economy to building the commune.

A question I have regards the "lower and deeper sections of the proletariat". This is mentioned many times as the most important sector of the proletariat but it isn't clear why. In historical communist organizing, it’s the producing class that is the key to revolution because they hold leverage over the productive means in society, ie. the source of capitalist profits & value production. The OCR critique the veneration of the productive worker (ie. factory worker) as the primary face of the working class power. I think this is correct because the economy depends on all types of labor (eg. reproductive labor) but the text doesn’t bring us full circle in terms of a class analysis. What is our view of class and how does it inform our strategy? Who is in the proletariat?

Another shortcoming is the dogged sectarianism of the OCR. They make no qualms about their MLM heritage and disparage others who are not in their camp: Trotskyists, the DSA, other Maoists and the dreaded revisionists. This takes the most pronounced form in their repeated praise of the Shining Path and Gonzalo thought. I think that going to the masses with the example of the Shining Path will backfire when they look into the history of that group and learn how the legacy of their campaigns in the 80s and 90s have affected the left in Peru to this day. Lenin and Mao were responding to the historical moments in which they lived. We have much to learn from this history but are in a different moment and we need to develop strategy and tactics that will aid in making revolution today.

[MorningSun · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re in the United States, read it and read it again. An extremely valuable history and summation.

[Canyon Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty thick read. Narrative form exploration got a little tiring for both CP and RCP, i'm also amazed at how much breath RCP received. why the authors are so sympathetic, beyond it being a long-lasting Maoist sect, i do not understand. I found their tactics interesting but even the authors acknowledge the deeply uncomfortable presence RCP imbues - yet they still give them as much attention as the CP, which despite revisionist tendencies, did have a mass following and place on/in history (unlike the RCP). conclusion was strong, Sixties period a bit shy. I think this could have been a lot shorter, but did enjoy it and just picked up 4 other issues of kites. I also plan to look more into the other Maoist formations beyond OCR, knowing what to avoid (CR-CPUSA, ICL, Red Guards, RCP, etc) because I've seen some pretty sturdy critiques of other OCR writing. If anyone has ever read The Late Fifi Nono's blog, I think the two are opposite sides of these existing Maoist activism that are really worth analyzing the work of.

[Brian Mcquaid · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lessons the OCR draws from the historical experience of the CP and RCP are invaluable for the present. The history, particularly that of the early RCP is deeply inspiring and invigorating.