The Black Liberation Movement in the United States has reached an almost unprecedented level of ideological confusion. Unlike in the 20th century, significant sections of the contemporary Black Left openly embrace an understanding of ‘identity politics’[i] that is based in philosophical idealism.[ii] A somewhat resurgent US Left has, correctly, begun to critique these perceived political errors. Unfortunately, social democrats such as DSA, Jacobin and Cedric Johnson in his award-winning article[iii] add to the ideological confusion. This essay asserts that contrary to the claims of advancing democracy and freedom, social democracy has consistently undermined the struggle for national liberation and socialism. In 1896, Eduard Bernstein, the . . .
Marxism-Leninism
No War But Class War in the Horn of Africa
The latest class conflict in Ethiopia began in November 2020 when the Tigray People’s Liberation Front attacked the northern command of the Ethiopian National Defense Force, essentially waging war against the Ethiopian government. It is important to note here that TPLF is a group that has close ties with the United States as well as the Central Intelligence Agency. They had ruled Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018 with brazen corruption and even invading sovereign Eritrean and Somali land. In order to understand the motives of imperialist pawns like TPLF and the role of the government, one must understand how Ethiopia . . .
Anti-Consumerism & Voluntary Poverty
‘Mutual Aid’ as both concept and practice was reignited under the conditions of the pandemic that called for collective approaches for survival. However, as the years have continued, mutual aid has been redefined continuously and is now synonymous with ‘charity’ (which is not a bad thing, but is quite different). Crowdfunding links are flooding the internet by the hundreds, but as time continues, pushing more people into the margins and squeezing them financially, that method seems to be increasingly becoming less and less effective. And for whatever reason requests for funds are made, the fact that it is overwhelming, continuous . . .
There is No Such Thing as Black Capitalism
51 years ago on 4th Dec 1969, Fredrick Allen Hampton Sr then chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP), and deputy chairman of the national BPP was assassinated by the Chicago County police in an unlawful raid. Hampton was only 21 years old when he was killed alongside Marl Clark another BPP member who was 22 years old. The anniversary to remember the life of Fred Hampton was quiet in 2021 without much celebration and recognition, obviously the mainstream media for known reasons do not have a history of celebrating radical revolutionaries. Although, maybe mistakenly one . . .
HC RADIO: Marxism and the Black Caribbean
In this episode of Hood Communist Radio, Erica is going to sit down with our comrade Kim to discuss anti-communism and how it impacts the left in the US. You know, how, when everybody always does the whole, “listen to Black women” thing, they’re never talking about Black women who identify as Marxist-Leninist. . . .
All States Aren’t Bad
Despite what is being said in online fodder, a state is not inherently bad. A state is simply the governing institution of a society. This governance takes on the form of a formal government, schools, universities, and law enforcement agencies. A state is not neutral as these institutions are the vehicle through which one class maintains dominance over other classes. States each have their own specific class characters. If a nation is building socialism, the ruling class is not the small sect of corporations, but the people. In a socialist state, the masses would maintain dominance (ie. dictatorship of the proletariat). However, paternalism embedded in the US left completely ignores and rejects this. . . .
Africans Must Recognize the Difference Between Marxism and Scientific Socialism
Science is important. The masses of African people, as oppressed people, must base our struggle for liberation on scientific knowledge and action. Just because Europeans claim science as their invention does not mean that science belongs to them or that African people ought to reject scientific truth. Our people have been scientists for thousands of years. We knew the laws of science long before Europeans discovered them. The same must be said about scientific socialism. Amílcar Cabral theorized reafricanization and returning to the source. He also understood dialectical materialism and organized his people for revolution to transform their material conditions . . .
Black American Apathy and Internationalism
For those organizing African people towards Revolutionary Pan-African Socialism, a Joe Biden presidency is not a win. It’s a detriment. Understanding neoliberalism breeds fascism would mean that it is a mistake for anyone alleged to be of a “radical politic” to celebrate Biden becoming the president-elect and, by extension, celebrating his running mate, Kamala Harris. . . .