Is Communism Fading?

[Âèëúÿì]

The USA has slaughtered the image of Communism and releases lies, misleading information to its public.

It feels (despite what I see here) like everywhere here in the USA, and other places too: That the ideas of Commuism has drifted out of view. It feels as if Communism has been made to be a thing of the past. Is it fading away? The USA Government portrays communism as having already been defeated, a thing of the 20th Century. I have doubts as to wether I will see a Soviet America, or better yet an entirely Communist world, before I will die. Maybe it will eventually fade out of view and Capitalism will continue to dominate. What are your opinions/facts? Are the number of Communists in our world decreasing?

[redprophet]

Well, there is no doubt that the fall of the Soviet Union was a massive historical setback for Marxism internationally.  The capitalist powers have used the oppurtunity to try to bury communism under a heap of lies and falsifications.  They are trying to discredit the only consistently revolutionary and and forward looking philosophy at the working class' disposal.

However, the fact that new material is consistently being published over a decade after the fall of the Soviet Union illustrates that communism has a lasting strength and virility that the intellectual charlatans of capital had accounted for.  This material is not merely historical trivia.  It is, as a whole, a violent assault on the former soviet state.  Why do the rich printers keep printing what are little more than polemics if communism is dead?

There are still those of us who cling to the truth.  And we are not going to stand by the wayside and watch history go by us.  We will fight as our predecessors did, for class solidarity, freedom and socialism.  We may be small in numbers at the time, but we are strong in spirit.

Communism will live as long as the human race suffers under the capitalist thumb.  As long as the desires of the workers and poor remain unrealized under capitalism, socialist revolution remains possible.

[P.O.U.M]

Are the number of Communists in our world decreasing?

Bah!

Nepal is under a Maoist revolution. I dont agree with the Maoists but "communist" it is.

Venezuela is on the move to socialism right now. With Bolivia trying to follow right behind it. Pakistan has a growing labor movement there.

A few websites of intrest about Venezuela

Hands Off Venezuela

http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=161&Itemid=43

http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=156&Itemid=43

http://www.marxist.com/Latinam/bolivia-revolutionary-wave250505.htm

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/

And this last site, ont strictly about Venezuela often has much news about recent events in Venezuela and throughout the world with from a marxist perspecitive.

http://www.marxist.com

[Holocaustpulp]

The imperialists cannot ultimately prevent the socialist movement; no CIA can control the minds of the masses; no capitalist coercion can oust a group of oppressed individuals.

Communism was never really welcomed in America, and its slandered image is still attack as the menace from the past by the US government. However, this reflects only the one Western power - rightist propaganda in Washington is not far-felt throughout the world, and the imposition of the US foreign policy is not willingly obeyed...

Communists aren't as strong as ever, perhaps - communist movements are indeed ripe today, nonetheless.

- Holocaustpulp

[Dasher]

Stalinism and its crimes were held up by the US ruling-class as a boogieman, this was a perfect foil for them to use to divert first the Workers organisations and then the masses.

The AFL/CIO meet this year and a split is brewing between left and right which can break the dead-lock the TU's have been in.  This might signify a change in the direction of US Labor.  The USA can not escape the coming struggles on class lines, by asking the workers to foot the bill.

This essay from 2002 gives a good long term perspective of developments in the US.

http://www.marxist.com/usa/marxism_and_usa_part1.html

[P.O.U.M]

The AFL/CIO meet this year and a split is brewing between left and right which can break the dead-lock the TU's have been in.

A split from 5 unions constituting at least 40%. At least thats what I think it is. The UFCW being one of them which I am involved in. Well, will be shortly, just gotta go to the damn union office which is completly out of my way. I gotta convince a friend to drive me... no easy task when you have to drive into the heart of LA. So much traffic... rush hour traffic can drive a person crazy here.

[P.O.U.M]

Pictures from a demo on Saterday in Venezuela

There was a demonstration of a million people in Venezuela demanding the US hand over suspected terrorist Posada for trial. The US so far has yet to hand over Posada and have no intention to. Really should tell you something about the War on Terrorism.

Anyways, looking that overwhelming color of red in the pictures, the Bush is a nazi devil fascist posters, and the defense of PDVSA signs (which was the recentnly nationalized and has been repeatedly attacked by the reactionary media).

Communism is hardly fading away from the world, if anything, it is forcing its self upon the world.

[K.M.A.Parrotta]

If anything, as of recently, communism (or like ideas) has grown in the US and around the world.  You would be surprised how many people who are tired of Bush policy are starting to develop pro-worker and anti-corporation sentiment.  With these kinds of feelings running rampant, our job is to turn them into a solid working class movement.  Will that plus global revolution happen in our lifetimes?  Hopefully, nobody can tell, I'm sure when Lenin was young he never saw it coming so soon.  The point is, times are getting more and more desperate for the workers of America, and they're starting to get pretty pissed.  It's not a red army now, but its something more than what there was years ago, and it's something that we need to create ourselves.  And with the example of Venezuela influencing Latin America and inspiring North America, I wouldn't rule revolution entirely implausible.

[Karl Belin]

We're coming now to a point where it will be "Socialism or Barbarism," Like Karl Marx and Rosa Luxemburg said. We'll have opportunities soon that we must take.

The examples of the past few posters have been excellent. The world is in upheaval. Not even Western European capital is safe from class war anymore. We'll see this in the coming Italian elections.

[Volkov]

It is not irrelevant or fading.  marxist.com has gotten a good deal of growth (it was averaging 2.2 million hits in the last months of 2005.  The masses in the USA are just beginning to wake up, and there is an anti-capitalist kernel in all of those anti-Bush sentiments.  Some even remark "All of those that govern us are crooks!"  There is a huge difference in the mood of the US masses today than there was, say, six or seven years ago.  With the crises of capialism all over the world, the mood will escalate.  It seems that the main barrier around that needs to be overcome is how some in the USA think that the Democrats are a workers' party when they are really a Bourgeois party.  They differ here and there on tactics and such with the Republicans, but they are the same.  Kerry had an even more aggressive anti-Chavez stance than Bush does!  Things are changing, and it will be up to us to spread our ideas amongst as man people as we can.  The anti-capitalist kernel is there.  With the unfolding events and the right ideas being used, people will realize that they are opposed to capitalism.  They are already unconsciously opposed to it.  They hate the problems of capitalism: unemployment, the rich getting the easy tax breaks, they keep saying "The rich get richer.  The poor get poorer.", they hate how lazy upper management officals and CEO's don't work, yet get so much money, etc.  They just tend to blame these things on Bush instead of realizing that these things are the workings of capitalism itself.  With time and the right ideas, things will move forward, and they will see the truth instead of blaming it all on Bush.  We need to nuture that kernel with our ideas so that it grows into a healthy, revolutionary outlook.

[Green]

People in my school found out I'm communist and they got mad at me and said "You want to take over America?" and "You don't believe in democracy?" and some guy went on and on about how the USSR became communist for greater economic power and he kept saying "Communism will never work!". I explained it to them and now I know  Catholics that want to learn more about Communism and start a club. They thought  that Communism was where the rich take advantage of the poor and Capitalism was where everything was distributed equally. I've also met people who think the Democrats represent the poor and middleclass and the republicans represent the upper class. They both represent the upper class. Historically those who represent the bourgeoisie interests thought they represent the interests of everyone.

The United States of America is a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie.

Hopefully I can get a teacher to sponser a Marxist club (I'll ask if I get more than 3 people who want to join, so far I only know one person who really wants to get it started).

I want to write a book that will shoot holes in the Social Darwinism being practiced today and some other things that American intellectuals have come to accept. Einstein supported Socialism and many other intellectuals will.

Anyways, the misconceptions and lies about Communism will easily be smashed once it is explained to people. If we can take control of the bourgeoisie media, Communism will flourish in the United States.

[Green]

Also, I'm a 16 year old who became a Marxist out of nowhere.

[(Re)volution]

Honestly I feel exactly the same, I mean just recently I saw a special on T.V about China and how the "communist" country works today. The fact that after most people knowledgeable about communism acknowledge the fact that China is by no means a real communist country. However thats not what they want people to think, I mean honestly when you look at it, we have a hard time today because the social atmosphere of the united states is mixed between those who have advanced through the years and take good note of what happens ot the country. then there is the majority in which is a cest pool of apathy. I mean for christ sake, we have a video of Bush being preps for Katrina...before it hit! We have the 9/11 reports, we have new evidence that Bush had planned to start the war with Iraq regardless of the lack of WMDs. The war was planned monthes ahead, and yet...some people still like him. However if we really look at it, this si jsut setting the stage, the people now get to see the problems first hand, now its up to us to spread the knowledge of the soultion. Now we do need an updated manifesto as some points of communism are outdated and need to be reevaluated. However I'm a writer (poor grammer and spelling on a message board doesn't seem to indicate this now does it?) I will attempt this when I become more knowledgeable, I know alot about Communism I've read alot of material, but I haven't finish the Mannifesto itself because my dog literally ate the book because he was working for corperate america...Anyways. Have faith and do your part is the best anyone can tell you, its harder for someone who lives in the bible belt as there seems to be no room for socialism here, but I seek to overcome this with writing which will go to all parts of the country. I do think we need a bit of life breathed into us though, ya know a mass education program, free copies of the mannifesto and other selected works (how much sense does it make to sell a copy of communist literature anyways?) I admit I am a bit pessimistic I see the new revolutionary who shows up for the revolutin saying "hey can we go ahead and do this revolution thing already, I've got to get home for dinner." Just hold fast I suppose, our day will come.

[Green]

It will get really bad before the proletariat realizes its place in the world.

[ckaihatsu]

I often point out that one has to ignore the marketing coming out of these places -- any nation can claim this-or-that, but what counts is what's actually happening. (!)