A Maoist Critique of Avakian
Wed Dec 19, 2007 at 08:59:19 PM PDT
This diary is about a fascinating critique of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) and its leader, Bob Avakian that has just appeared on the Mike Ely's new blog, Kasama.
Many people here who have been involved in impeachment or anti-war work have become familiar with the RCP in the course of their interactions with World Can't Wait, an organization in which the RCP has played a prominent role. And those familar with the RCP are quite likely to have heard of its Chairman, Bob Avakian.
I have defended the role that the RCP played in building up WCW, and the role of socialists and communists generally in waging important struggles when liberals wouldn't. I have consistently opposed the anti-communism and red-baiting that is often directed at people with revolutionary left politics who have played such a critical role in organizing much of what public protest there is against this war and the other crimes of this government.
Many people, like myself, who agree with much of what the RCP says about the nature of the system we are dealing with and the need for it to be overthrown and not just reformed, however, have been put off by the the RCP's "culture of promotion" around Bob Avakian and his words.
It is easy to make facile criticisms of the RCP precisely because they are so unapologetic about their belief in the possibility and neccesity of revolution when few other forces dare say such things. But the claims made on behalf of Avakian also demand a response. Not some cheap and easy accusations or dismissals, but a serious political response that deals with the politics that underly practices that from the outside seem so counter-productive to the stated aim of winning millions of people over to revolutionary politics.
Now, a long-time and important supporter of the RCP, Mike Ely, has written a very provocative critique of Avakian and his thinking in the form of Nine Letters that I think should be read not just by those who have had occasion to work with the RCP, but really by anybody who thinks its important to really talk about what its going to take to bring an end to this rotten system and to replace it with something fundamentally better and more just.
While this piece is framed as a critique of the RCP and Avakian, much of what it has to say speaks to the deeper problem of what it will really take to win the things so many people here are dreaming of.
As Ely explains:
How do we make revolution in a world that seems to conspire against liberation?
How do we make the breakthroughs in communist theory and practice needed in this rapidly changing world?
With great singlemindedness, the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA (RCP) has been insisting that its leader, Bob Avakian, has the answers for humanity. His New Synthesis, (this party says) is a fundamental break with even the best of previous communism, including Marx, Lenin and Mao. And (this party says) this New Synthesis represents the best and even only hope for humanity.
The Nine Letters unfold a detailed Maoist critique of Avakian’s synthesis. It engages, documents and criticizes Avakian’s method, approach and verdicts. The main author is Mike Ely, a former editor of the RCP’s Revolution newspaper.
These Nine Letters excavate the RCP’s inability to establish any mass base or revolutionary movement over more than thirty-five years. They dissect the escalating claims of the RCP’s cult of personality around Avakian – with special focus on the cult’s theoretical assumptions, denial of practice, and implications for revolutionary strategy.
In a beginning way, these Nine Letters point to a different road for communists and call on others to join in a very presumptuous work of re-conception and new revolutionary practice.
Many people here will undoubtedly find bizarre the suggestion that a Maoist critique of the leadership of an admittedly small leftist organization should be of interest to progressives. They will think that what is wrong with the RCP is simply self-evident and not deserving of this sort of attention. But for those who appreciate the important role that revolutionary-minded forces have, can and will again play in the political life of this country, there is much of interest in these letters.
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