*----------------------------------------------------------* | | | x x x x x x x xx xxx xxx xxx | | xx xx x xx xx xx x x x x x x Issue #29 | | x x x x x x x x xx x x x xx xxx | | x x x x x x x x x x x x 03/14/87 | | x x x x x x x xx x xxx xxx | | | |----------------------------------------------------------| | Newspaper of the Maoist Internationalist Movement | *----------------------------------------------------------* WHY STUDY THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION? For those who do not know anything about the Cultural Revolution, the best reason to study the Cultural Revolution is that China is over one quarter of humanity. For ten years (1966-1976), China experienced the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution. It would be sheer provincialism to ignore the Cultural Revolution because the mass media of the United States universally criticizes it as chaos and the dark ages of China. In 1976 the opponents of the Cultural Revolution succeeded in overthrowing Mao Zedong's followers. Since then China has become a fully state capitalist country with farming of individual plots of land and industrial production for profit. The attacked articles are a journalistic attempt to scratch the surface of the importance of the changes in China. It is readily apparent that state capitalism in China has already shown potential for bringing misery to the Chinese people. It was only the Cultural Revolution which kept China from facing one-third unemployment in the countryside. It was the Cultural Revolution which saw industry spread throughout the countryside so that the residents of the countryside could make the leap into the industrial age. It was the Cultural Revolution which tried to break down the barrier between academic knowledge and practical work to benefit society. By targeting society as responsible for crime and mental illness instead of the individual, China had tremendous success in the Cultural Revolution. Now with the emphasis on labor force discipline, blame-the-victim ideology focuses on the individual and crime and mental illness are skyrocketing. Likewise, so is capital punishment. The end of the Cultural Revolution has also meant retrogression in the position of women. It's not so much that the state capitalists endorse female infanticide as that they have abandoned political campaigns against female infanticide--Confucian norms with thousands of years of weight behind them. While genuine communists mourn the loss of socialist China to state capitalism, China today provides genuine communists with a remarkable experiment which shows what the capitalist roaders in the Communist Party will do if they get into power. China today offers a perfect contrast between socialism and state capitalism. For those who have studied socialism, the Cultural Revolution provides the most advanced lesson in socialist construction yet known. Whether it be industrial organization as described by Stephen Andors and Charles Bettelheim or proletarian democracy in action as described by Jean Esmein or William Hinton, the Cultural Revolution blazed the path that genuine communists must learn from. In every sphere-- culture, the economy, government--the Cultural Revolution provided models and individual instances of how the socialist outlook could replace the capitalist outlook, often times in a fashion previously conceived of as "impossible." In summary, there are two main classes of reasons to study the Cultural Revolution. One is to understand where one- quarter of humanity has headed in the last twenty years. The state capitalist counterrevolution in China today has had profound effects on the people there. Secondly, the Cultural Revolution put the "ideals" of socialism into practice in a dramatic fashion. For almost two decades, China went beyond Soviet experience in giving the world inklings of how communism is possible. REVOLUTIONARIES FACE SEDITION AND RICO RACKETEERING CHARGES The U.S. government recently charged eight people with making an agreement to overthrow the government by force-- "seditious conspiracy." The government is also using RICO laws, which came into existence to deal with organized crime, but which have seen extensive use against revolutionaries. The eight people--Carol and Tom Manning, Richard Williams, Patricia Gros, Jaan Laaman, Barbara Curzi-Laaman, Raymond Levasseur and Chris King--call themselves the Ohio Seven. They verbally support the existence of an armed revolutionary underground, which does exist right now.They all have extensive backgrounds in various progressive organizations including North Star Book Store and the Haymarket Peoples' Fund, which financially supports many organizations. MIM's predecessors the RADACADS worked with some of the groups that the Ohio Seven worked in. For example, the group AMANDLA worked with RADACADS in showing the film "Attica" to several hundred people at Harvard University. MIM's understanding of the armed underground is not very detailed, but there have been such forces since the creation of the Weather Underground and the Black Liberation Army in the 60s. Perhaps our readers have read leaflets denouncing u.s. imperialism in lower-case letters by the John Brown Anti-Klan Committee or "May 19th." The Ohio Seven seem to be part of the same general trend, but we advise readers to investigate for themselves. The Ohio Seven request donations for publicity expenses and correspondence. Ohio Seven Support Committee Ohio Seven Support Committee Box 530, Cathedral Station Box 481 New York, NY 10025 Cambridge, MA 02139 WHAT DID YOU EXPECT COLUMN FOR THE MONTH: EXPLOITATION OF BLACKS INCREASES Median family income for Black families increased only 5% after inflation between 1970 and 1980. The stagnant income position continues to exist despite obvious educational gains of Blacks. Blacks with high school diplomas increased from 31% to 51% during the period. (Detroit Free Press 2/27/87, p. 14A.) What this means is that increasingly, lower-educated whites make more than highly-educated Blacks. INFANT MORTALITY INCREASES 32% IN ONE YEAR IN BOSTON-- SOLELY AMONG BLACKS The United States is joining the Soviet Union with the honor of having an increasing infant mortality rate. In Boston, the increase occurred amongst Blacks, primarily in the poorer areas such as Roxbury. Such statistics are an incredible indictment of the distribution of medical care in times of cutback of social services. It is impossible to lay an increase in the rate of infant mortality to anything but a systemic cause. The worsening economic conditions of some sectors in the United States is an obvious suspect for such a systemic cause. What institutional racism and institutional violence means is demonstrated perfectly in Boston. Literally 100% of the increase in infant mortality occurred among Blacks. (Boston Globe 2/9/87, p. 1) REAGAN APPROVED SALES OF ARMS TO IRAN ACCORDING TO TOWER COMMISSION REPORT Militarism and national chauvinism usually go hand in hand. This time though, the mud thrown on Iran by the United States flew back in its face. Rallying backward elements in the United States for nearly a decade with anti-Iran hatred, the U.S. government dropped a rock on its foot by selling arms to Iran. As is clear in the disclosed remarks of Oliver North, the United States did not want a back seat to the Soviet Union in Iran. The imperialists wanted more influence in Iran than the Soviets, so they tried to make Iran dependent on U.S. arms. By selling Iran arms, the United States ruling class hoped to gain influence in Iran. Oliver North even knew that public disclosure of the arms deals would be damaging. But the ruling class was so desperate to win its competition with the Soviet bloc it went ahead with the deals. Once again, Iran has left the U.S. government in a state of contradiction. Clearly more desperate than ever to wage war against the Soviet bloc, the U.S. imperialists are unable proceed for the moment. Once the new White House crew is in order under Howard Baker, however, it will be business as usual. once can be sure that any number of covert arms deals are going down this very moment as the press berates Reagan for this particular one. BOOK REVIEW Sebastian Haffner, Failure of a Revolution: Germany 1918- 1919, Banner Press, Chicago: 1986 This is an excellent book published in 1968 [unsure if book is from 1986 or 1968--18] by a German journalist concerned with why Germany never had its often-prophesied proletarian revolution. Haffner explains why the right, the Social Democrats and even the Spartacists (communists) wrote attempted proletarian revolution out of the history books. The military and the Kaiser of Germany had nothing but disdain for the uprising of the masses of Germany at the end of World War I. It was only so much chaos and rioting to them. Social Democratic leaders who came to rule civilian Germany shared the traditional ruling class's contempt for the attempts at governance by the soldiers, sailors and workers of Germany, but added the element of betrayal. Haffner shows in no uncertain terms how the Social Democrats paved the way for Hitler and saw to the assassination of communist leaders Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. Finally, Haffner unintentionally detailed how Luxemburg and Liebknecht lagged behind the times. Despite a sympathetic after word by Richard Bruch, the overall impression of the book is that the Spartacists were too little too late. Nothing could be more indicative than that the party only formed after the initial events of the revolution. It appears that Liebknecht in particular was in touch with the anti-militarist movement and even symbolized it, but he did not lead it, nor did his party. The only hesitation that a Leninist could have with the book is Haffner's own tendency to see the period in terms of personalities, some more stupid than others. The book is excellent political history, but the underlying political economy of the period is left in the dark. On wishes there were a counterpart to Haffner's book on the political economy of Germany. Overall Failure of a Revolution should be required reading on Germany because it teaches many political lessons chronicling a heroic but naive uprising against militarism and counterrevolution. CORRESPONDENCE Comrades, I'm a colonial victim trapped inside the "Belly of the Beast." I'm in the process of transforming my once neo- colonial mentality into a revolutionary mentality. I would like for you to please send me the book that all great freedom fighters have read: "The Wretched of the Earth" by Franz Fanon. I have been trying to get this book for the last three years. There isn't a copy of its kind in this whole institution. I need to study this book to raise my consciousness even higher. [MIM sent the book--ed.] --A comrade from the Midwest Dear Brothers/Sisters: I am a young brother who is in confinement and trying to uplift myself in this world. You see, I'm a heavy reader of books and I was wondering if you can send me the books I listed below? Right now, I have no outside help or funds to send you but I would appreciate it highly if you can send me these books. I know you all will understand the situation here with a lot of us in prison!!! 1. Unity and Struggle by Cabral Amilcar 2. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney 3. Black Panthers Speak 4. Comrade George by Eric Manning 5. Dragon Has Come by G. Armstrong 6. Bad by James Carr. --Your brother in struggle To MIM Distributors: I am presently incarcerated in the X and I was talking with other inmates, who feel as I do on the scandalous, religious/political state the government is in and one prisoner gave me your address in hopes that you might be able to help me out. I plan to become active on my release. This way I can spread the message to the people who still believe in this "free" society. I want people to know that the old rule, per se, is still being applied, "whoever has the most money makes the rules" in this constant struggle for power at whatever cost. --A comrade in Southwest