We are a Marxist-Leninist press. We are working to advance Communism from within North America, the belly of the world-imperialist beast. “Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions.” We reject liberalism; at the same time, we will welcome collaboration with revolutionary socialists of all varieties and with the broader pro-Communist Left.
Unity–Struggle–Unity was conceived by a small and tight-knit, yet geographically dispersed, circle of experienced, politically active, locally organized Communists — don’t worry, we’re not just sitting around in armchairs. The press is managed by our rotating Editorial Board. Our current editors, as we prepare for launch, are Cdes. Katsfoter (he/him), Mazal (she/her), and Sylveste (he/him). We use pseudonyms for this purpose as a matter of operational security.
Why did we decide to launch Unity–Struggle–Unity? For the same reason many newspapers, journals, etc., are launched: We believe that there is a deficiency in the current field. Namely, we believe that the Communist movement within the U.S. Empire presently lacks a Marxist-Leninist press capable of connecting the myriad local revolutionary struggles being carried on, in a dissociated fashion, across North America, and of thereby effecting our movement’s advancement towards unity, which in turn stands as the vital precondition for building the revolution. Faced with these challenges, the U.S. Communist movement is in dire need of accessible, receptive, and principled periodicals, capable of contributing towards the further unification of our divided, scattered, and disorganized movement. We believe that Unity–Struggle–Unity has the potential to fill this deficiency — if not in whole, then in part; if not alone, then in collaboration with comrades across the U.S. Empire and beyond its borders.
In its conceptual phase, Unity–Struggle–Unity grew out of our circle’s collaborative study of the challenges and questions we’ve all faced as organized revolutionaries. Despite our wide geographical dispersion, our team has worked to connect our localized organizational roots, to coordinate the tactics of our local formations into the beginnings of an actual strategy, and to channel our experiences in local struggles through our shared Marxist-Leninist ideological framework, into a higher collectivity of study, practical experimentation, concrete analysis of revolutionary questions, and theory production. Unity–Struggle–Unity is the logical result of and “next step” for our collaboration: We launched USU intent on expanding our work to serve the advancement of our movement.
Our analysis of the U.S. Communist movement — in a nutshell
Based on our experiences as organized revolutionaries, our collective study, and our analysis thus far, which will follow this letter, we hold that the immediate and vital task of present-day U.S.-based Communists is the continent-wide unification of our movement — or, more briefly, Communist unity.
What, practically and tangibly speaking, does “Communist unity” mean?
We understand Communist unity — or, as Lenin called it, a “unity of Marxists” — to mean the unification of the U.S. Communist movement, that is, in definite terms, the clear majority of militantly organized U.S.-based Communists, into a genuinely revolutionary, “All-U.S.” Communist Party, capable of serving the revolutionary masses as their vanguard, of leading the revolutionary movement, nascently reawakening and resurging as the period of unipolar imperialist stability begins to deteriorate, to the victorious overthrow and total abolition of the U.S. Empire, and, thereafter, of overseeing the commencement of the decolonization and socialist transformation of North America.
From our analysis of the present-day U.S. Communist movement and its recent history, we have concluded that the task of achieving Communist unity will entail two major components:
On the first hand, an “All-Empire” Communist Party must be capable of uniting, centralizing, and effectively coordinating the myriad local struggles already being waged across the U.S. Empire, which have hitherto carried on in a dissociated, atomized fashion, under a winning “all-empire” program and strategy. We want to make clear that the local efforts of many, likely several thousand, locally organized revolutionaries across the U.S. Empire are nothing short of heroic — especially those doing the mundane, simple, and too often neglected work of serving the people. However, in the absence of any greater Communist unity, these myriad disconnected struggles are failing to build towards anything beyond temporary, spatially confined victories, towards the advancement of a revolutionary movement within and against the U.S. Empire; instead, the revolutionary energy they do build dissipates at the local level, before it can accumulate at the regional level, let alone the continental or “all-empire” level. Thus, while the sheer number of organized revolutionaries across the U.S. has boomed in the last few years, while a great many of those revolutionaries are engaged in militant and truly heroic local work, and while the level of consciousness and activity among the oppressed masses generally has never been higher in contemporary history, the revolutionary movement, from a holistic viewpoint, has largely stagnated, particularly since the petering out of the Summer 2020 Uprisings. Therefore, to advance the U.S. Communist movement to its next stage, the stage of building towards the social revolution, we must first achieve Communist unity.
On the other hand, at the same time, Communist unity cannot be achieved merely by Communists joining, en masse, one of the few relatively large, all-U.S. “Marxist” parties that currently exist — for example, the “Communist Party” USA or the Party for Socialism and Liberation, to name the two numerically largest. Why not? For one, most of the relatively large parties fester with deeply entrenched revisionism, to the point of abandoning revolutionary struggles altogether, and chauvinism, to the point of rebuking decolonization, advocating “socialist” settler-patriotism, sheltering credibly accused abusers, and expelling comrades who’ve been abused for airing their grievances — just to scratch the surface. But if it were possible to overcome these ideological, practical, and organizational failures through struggle, then certainly we would be called on as Communists to struggle. Unfortunately, these few relatively large U.S. “Marxist” parties are not only deeply revisionist and chauvinist, but in fact unsalvageably so. Why? Because their entrenched leaderships have built anti-democratic, commandist organizational structures, which render internal ideological and line struggle effectively impossible. In practice, with each next U.S. general election and each next abuse scandal, these parties demonstrate again and again their fundamental brokenness. Moreover, these relatively large, unsalvageable all-U.S. parties have, in effect, if not intent, served our enemies, by drawing out several thousand potential revolutionaries from actually revolutionary struggles and meaningful praxis; by putting them to work as election volunteers for the Democratic Party; by corralling them into settler-patriotism and expelling those who uphold the necessity of decolonization; by absorbing these comrades into massive, cop-infested, pyramid-scheme-designed, thoroughly anti-revolutionary honeypots. This situation has left a significant bulk of U.S.-based Communists entirely pacified. And, it can’t go unstated, it has left countless gender-oppressed comrades abused and silenced in the process. In sum, none of the relatively large U.S. “Marxist” parties have proven themselves capable of achieving Communist unity, let alone of becoming the vanguard of the revolutionary movement that is once more taking hold in North America. To again refer to Lenin, Communist unity should not be mistaken to mean a “unity” between Marxists and the opponents, distorters, and liquidators of Marxism who currently dominate our movement, impede its further advancement, and shamelessly serve our enemies by absorbing and redirecting a significant portion of its resurging energy. On the contrary, the task of achieving Communist unity demands that these hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of comrades, who currently linger as potential revolutionaries in the rank-and-file general memberships of the relatively large but unsalvageable parties, be drawn back into the revolutionary movement. In other words, we must unite those comrades who can be united, while isolating the reactionaries who long ago commandeered leadership.
These two components are the essence of the task of Communist unification and set the preconditions for advancing our movement to its next stage.
Our plan for Unity–Struggle–Unity
True to its name, the overarching purpose of Unity–Struggle–Unity is to contribute towards this vital task, the realization of Communist unity, through immovably principled, dialogical ideological struggle — struggle against the revolution’s enemies and against all liquidator-reactionaries lurking within our movement, comradely struggle between Communists, and struggle for the oppressed masses — in service of connecting the myriad local revolutionary struggles carrying on across the U.S. Empire. If we were asked to condense our “mission statement” into a single sentence, this would be it.
We have no illusions concerning the gravity and scope of the challenges our movement faces. The Communist movement in the U.S. Empire is only now beginning to recover from the systematic destruction wreaked upon it a few scant decades ago. This recovery will not be simple or easy. Our movement’s decades-old fractures must be healed; it must be cured of the revisionist and chauvinist rot festering within it; it must advance ideologically and politically; it must develop a clear-sighted, scientific, and militant program, strategy, and arsenal of tactics; and, finally, it must be unified. Communist unity will be achieved not merely by wishing and pleading for it, nor merely by insisting upon and demanding it, but only by actively, dialogically, and cooperatively stitching together the great many revolutionary, but as yet dissociated and atomized, local formations into a single party; by absorbing the potentially revolutionary rank-and-file of the relatively large but unsalvageably revisionist and chauvinist parties; and by building a solidly democratic-centralist organizational infrastructure that is both well-centralized and genuinely democratic. We intend for Unity–Struggle–Unity to serve the advancement of this process, but we recognize that no single Communist press or publisher, however principled its editorial policy, however insightful its content, can conjure with mere words a reality of Communist unity. Moreover, while the task of Communist unification is certainly an urgent one, especially given the ongoing, unchecked deterioration of our Earth’s ecosphere, suffering under the assault of global Capital, we anticipate that unification will, unfortunately, be a years-long, arduous process — constituting in itself an entire stage in the development of the revolutionary movement in North America — and we are attempting to prepare accordingly. We hope that Unity–Struggle–Unity will be only one of the first of many forces striving towards this goal.
So, how will Unity–Struggle–Unity contribute to creating the conditions for the achievement of Communist unity?
The task of Communist unification demands the advancement and refinement of our movement’s theory and praxis. This in turn demands that we scientifically apply Marxism-Leninism, in our study and our revolutionary work, to the historical and present social conditions of and the class struggle unfolding throughout North America. Further, the task of Communist unification demands that we raise the Communist movement’s consciousness and activity by engaging in comradely dialogue and debate, in criticism and self-criticism, with our comrades in the struggle, while defeating and isolating those who seek to liquidate the Communist movement, to pacify it, and to exploit it for personal gain. Therefore, generally speaking, Unity–Struggle–Unity will have two publishing focuses: First, advancing our movement’s general ideological development, especially through study of theoretical and practical questions relevant to the revolutionary struggles unfolding across North America. Second, advancing our movement’s political development, namely by facilitating comradely dialogue and debate between revolutionaries, thereby uniting what can be united, while, at the same time, where appropriate, engaging in polemic, thereby isolating the reactionaries within our movement; and, further, by developing practicable analyses of the major ideological, practical, and organizational challenges facing the present-day Communist movement in North America. An essential component of this second focus will be the establishment and careful curation of an all-U.S. forum, wherein locally organized Communists have the opportunity to communicate and to connect their local revolutionary struggles; the facilitation of such all-U.S. fora will serve to overcome our movement’s present atomization and to advance us towards Communist unity.
Towards the fulfillment of these aims, we have identified three publishing standards for Unity–Struggle–Unity, which we believe should be taken up by all Communist presses: accessibility, dialogical receptivity, and strict adherence to principles.
Unity–Struggle–Unity will be made accessible to the revolutionary masses and our comrades in the struggle in four major ways: First, access to the website will always be cost-free; and, when we are prepared to expand to print, all physical periodicals will also be cost-free, distributed on a “pay-what-you-can” basis. Second, USU’s content will be pedagogically accessible to the revolutionary masses, by observing, as a matter of editorial policy, a clearness and precision of language, the use of illustration, and a balance between concision and rhetorical force. Third, USU’s content will be, as a rule, relevant to the realities of social conditions and revolutionary struggles, so that its content is readily connected by the conscious masses to their experiences, and thus becomes actively, and not only passively, accessible to the intellect. Fourth, we will aim for wide approachability, without falling into the trap of “speaking down” to the masses with the condescending, patronizing tone that so often characterizes “popular” Communist publications.
To the first point, yes, we are aware that the costs of publishing and distributing materials are considerable. But we must absorb those operating costs ourselves, while defraying what we can through the donations of comrades who support our work, without attempting to offset the burden onto the masses we’re serving. Communist propaganda and educational materials must be made freely available to the greater portion, the poorer contingents, of the revolutionary masses, as both a matter of principle and a strategic necessity: a “path of least resistance” by which the masses and our comrades in the struggle can most readily, clearly, and easily access revolutionary theory. This means that our materials must be made available to folks lacking regular Internet access, such as many unhoused people, prisoners, and the rural poor. This is why we do not accept the notion that the need for print publishing has been obviated by the radical changes in communications brought about by contemporary technological advancements; these advancements present us with new opportunities, as well as new challenges, to which our propaganda and educational work must adapt, but have hardly diminished the need for a “traditional” press. Therefore, we hold that incurring the costs of publishing on behalf of the poor is a basic responsibility for Communists and a pillar of consciousness-raising work.
Unity–Struggle–Unity will be made receptive and open to the revolutionary masses and our comrades in the struggle at the most immediate level: We will invite and welcome, and reply as efficiently as possible to, all well-intentioned letters, emails, and other replies, as well as externally hosted responses to our content, sent to us from fellow Communists, whether as collectives (parties, local formations, circles, etc.) or as individuals, from pro-Communist allies among the broader revolutionary Left, and from conscious workers and poor folks. Further, Unity–Struggle–Unity will invite and welcome, for publication on our website and, in the future, in our various periodicals, submissions from comrades, allies, and conscious workers and poor folks. From our locally organized comrades, we would especially encourage “on-the-ground” dispatches from and analyses of local revolutionary struggles, so that we can connect every possible locality at the “all-empire” level.
We want to make it very clear that we will accept comradely criticism of content we’ve published and of editorial positions Unity–Struggle–Unity has taken. Further, we do not intend to “tone-police” our comrades: Revolutionary criticism, even when it is “aggressive” in tone, harsh, and ruthless, is vital to building a vibrant Communist movement, capable of organically adapting its strategy and tactics to changing conditions, of responding to the expressed needs of the people, of practicing genuinely democratic centralism, of correcting its errors, of refining its praxis, and of ultimately leading the revolutionary movement to victory. Struggle among and between Communists, when done right, is both a general prerequisite for advancing our movement and an essential purgative, specifically for the U.S. movement. Struggle will serve as a tonic for a movement that has, for far too long, been plagued by every variety of chauvinism and paralyzed with liquidationism and reformism. We take seriously that Communists must always be prepared to openly participate in struggle with each other and with our allies, on a comradely basis, and that we must always be receptive to criticism from the conscious masses. To this end, while Unity–Struggle–Unity will necessarily maintain high standards, enforced by our Editorial Board, and while the editors may publish submissions with clarifying and critical notes, we will always offer an open forum. Such fora, as we’ve said, have the potential to serve as powerful tools for advancing towards Communist unity.
However, our goal is not merely to criticize the movement’s errors and failures, nor to engage in the sort of uncomradely, self-righteous, and pragmatically destructive polemicizing against existing Communist parties and other formations that too often characterizes the publications of unaffiliated Communists. We understand that struggle between Communists must serve a revolutionary purpose: Struggle must serve to build up the movement.
Perhaps in no other country is the intentional practice of comradely struggle more desperately needed than it is by the U.S. Communist movement, which for decades has collectively failed to overcome the uniquely “American” liberalism that corrodes it. U.S.-based Communists are not immune to the prevailing ideology of the empire under which we live — to “Americanism” — and we must intentionally work through our socialization into “American” individualism. The fractured and weakened state of our movement demonstrates the results of this socialization in microcosm: U.S. Communists have proven ourselves unique in the world for our typical stalwart unwillingness to engage in comradely debate, and to submit ourselves to criticism and self-criticism, in a healthy, constructive manner — and that’s when we’re willing to engage at all. Allowed to go unchecked, our “American” attitudes have had deleterious effects on our movement, contributing to its present state of fracture and decay.
Our analysis has found that this Americanism manifests in the U.S. Communist movement as two opposite and complementary, major organizational problems: aversion to criticism and obsession with criticism. Both are manifestations of extreme liberal individualism and both trend towards the movement’s greater fracturing, atomization, and dissolution. The latter, obsession with criticism, is the liberal-individualist’s attempt at a domineering exertion and projection of their personal will, in service of inflating one’s ego. The former, aversion to criticism, is, in contrast, the liberal-individualist’s defense mechanism, an avoidance tactic that serves to protect one’s fragile ego from shattering under pressure. Neither extreme is acceptable for a Communist and both attitudes must be overcome. Communists must learn to do the work of engaging in comradely, principled, and constructive debate
We hope that Unity–Struggle–Unity’s policy and standards of receptivity, once put into practice, will serve as a useful example for other Communist organizations and, in time, an example for the unified all-U.S. Communist Party.
Furthermore, we hope that Unity–Struggle–Unity will serve as an example of how Communists, not only as press organizations, but when organized generally, ought to engage with the conscious masses. When the Communist press fails to explicitly link its contents to the class struggle, it fails to lead the people. This owes not necessarily to the subject of published content, but rather to the ideological framing we use. The readers of a people’s press will read it, if they read it, because the newspapers and magazines, leaflets and pamphlets, flyers and posters, etc., address tangible, “real” problems; because these problems are explained in a truly clarifying way, from a genuinely revolutionary perspective; and because the Communists are really listening to the masses, responding to their needs in a dialogical way, and not merely speaking at them. This is why we have planned for Unity–Struggle–Unity to operate with such a highly receptive and open model.
Finally, Unity–Struggle–Unity will strictly adhere to the political and organizational principles of responsible, professional, and comradely conduct that should be expected, at the bare minimum, of all Communists, while unwaveringly upholding the ideological principles of the organic, dynamic body of revolutionary theory and methodology we know as Marxism-Leninism.
The Communist movement in the U.S., lacking unity, has become inundated with reactionary deviations from Communism, drenched in chauvinism, and cast adrift by eclecticism. For its part, Unity–Struggle–Unity will not tolerate, and will subject to the harshest criticism, any and all forms of chauvinism that fester within our movement. We will work to demystify the myriad ideological confusions brought about by eclecticism. And we will never hesitate to criticize, struggle through, and excise from our movement any and all reactionary deviations from Communism. At the same time, we will take up the age-old Communist task of working to overcome reactionary ideas and attitudes embedded among the people. In this struggle, we look forward to working with comrades across the U.S. Empire and well beyond its borders.
Conclusion
Through these efforts, our highest goal for Unity–Struggle–Unity is to contribute towards the formulation and accumulation of a scientifically coherent, practicable, and really revolutionary program and strategy for the liberation of North America — a program capable of uniting the Communist movement.
We must become as the storm that sets the trees and the grain to trembling, that causes the ripest of the fruit to fall; from all formations and half-built organizations and from the petrified corpses of formations that still bear green shoots, we aim to sort and sift, to winnow and combine, the most advanced, the most prepared, the most militant into a single ferment of revolutionary dialogue.