"CANADIAN CLASS STRUGGLE" Issue 1; January 1998. Price : $1.00 
This humble first issue is a small beginning. We are aware of its limitations. But we are also aware of the need for a new journal that takes as its starting point : Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin. Initially, we will publish only once every 6-8 weeks. We aim to publish more frequently.

CONTENTS :

WHY THERE NEEDS TO BE A NEW PAPER OF WORKING PEOPLE. . . . page 1
THE TEACHERS STRIKE ONTARIO OCTOBER 1997 . . . . page 2
LIES ABOUT THE OCTOBER RUSSIAN REVOLUTION. . . .page 4
FROM STATS CANADA: WIDER GAP RICH & POOR. . . . .page 7
WHAT HAPPENS TO EX-MINISTERS & EX-PM’s?. . . . . . . .page 8
ADDRESSES FOR CANADIAN CLASS STRUGGLE. . . . . . . page 8


WHY THERE NEEDS TO BE A NEW PAPER OF WORKING PEOPLE
We believe that there is no Marxist-Leninist working class party in Canada today. But the leadership of a party based in Marxist-Leninist theory and practice, is essential for a successful revolutionary struggle to take state power for the working class. The parties in Canada currently, that aim their appeal towards the progressive and socialist minded sections of the Canadian working class, all consist of various forms of revisionism. To win over the best elements of those in revisionist parties, a new "Collective Organizer" - (Lenin’s view of a working class paper) must be printed. It should aim to provide the highest level of analysis, and viewpoints for the rights of ordinary Canadians, on day-to-day issues of the Canadian working class. Our intent is to establish a Marxist-Leninist Party that is free from revisionist influence.
What is Revisionism?
    Current parties are aimed at diverting the most progressive Canadians and Workers. This can only be done by giving them a false history and a false ideology. Revisionism attempts to mislead the most battle ready sections of the workers, into one of many fruitless byways. As such, even though revisionist parties have some honest elements, they are often led by consciously dis-honest elements. The honest elements are used by the capitalist and ruling class to provide a bulwark against the potential activity of the working class led by a consistent Marxist-Leninist and honest leadership.
The various revisionist parties can be grouped as :

1) The Communist Party Of Canada; (CPC).

    This is the oldest party, that previously supported the USSR, when it was socialist under Stalin. After the death of Stalin the state reintroduced private property relations and denigrated the achievements of the Bolsheviks under Stalin. The CPC did not correctly withdraw support from Khrushchev, but became slavish in its support of him. That this party is not Marxist-Leninist is shown by :

    But the CPC still contains some of the best of the older generations, who still have much that can enlighten the youth. It is important to try to win these honest elements over.

2) Various Groups that call themselves Marxist-Leninist.
    These groups accept the demarcation line of Stalin as important. But these groups are, often divided about issues other than Stalin. Despite being often small, they are also often unwilling to engage in practical united fronts.
    They are divided between those that support Mao Tse Tung, and those that support Enver Hoxha; yet many refuse to engage in clear and constructive debate on the issues that underlie the debate between Hoxha and Mao. These groups often :

a) Have been consistently pro-Stalin, often antedating the rise to power of Gorbachev;
b) Take a consistently militant stand.
    It is important to engage and draw all these groups into a common debate, and activity. But this is difficult to do, unless there is a paper for engaging them in activity and theoretical clarification. Thus far no paper is in a position to do this.
            3) Trotskyite and New Left Groups
    Numerically, of all groups that call themselves "communist", these are probably the largest in Canada today. This group forms yet another ideological bulwark for capitalism. Because Trotsky fought against Lenin and the construction of Socialism, his theories are dangerous for the working class and in under-developed countries, for the peasantry. Members of this groups are by and large, militants who have "seen through " social democracy. They often harbor honest individuals whose understanding is held back, by the lack of exposure of good Marxist-Leninist role models that could attract them.
    4) Social Democracy : The New Democratic party
    This is a party whose appeal is pitched at the lowest level of politically aware progressives, often consciously anti-communist in their views. There is a need to engage these people in activity and discussion, that in a principled way, exposes further how social democracy only helps capitalism. Only a new paper can effectively do this. 

THE TEACHERS STRIKE ONTARIO OCTOBER 1997.

    The strike began on Monday October 27th 1997. When the Ontario Government sought a court order to force teachers back to work, they failed. But by using the tactics of divide and rule, the five teacher unions were splintered. This did force a return to work, against the wishes of a large number of the rank-and-file.
    The Principal Causes of the Strike.
    The key issue was the direction and control of the educational system. Even the Globe and Mail agreed that:

    Against a background of a climate of cost-cutting, and erosion of the significant reforms won by working class militancy over the past decades, the strike was a key point in the rising class battles of Ontario and Canada. Ontario has 2.1 million students & 126,000 teachers. The strike affected 800,00 families. In a week, there were ripple effects, with 1300 kitchen workers laid off; Laidlaw Transit (school bus operators) took 5,500 buses off; and crossing guards laid off. Public support for the teachers was high. Government tried to argue that education was well financed despite a proposed stripping of $1 billion, but the people of Ontario knew better. Government argued that parents do not see this "rich funding", because the teachers receive the cash into their own pension fund, and this money is not in class-rooms: Says Minister of Finance Ernie Eves:     Government claims of abundant funding to education are false:     In reality the teachers unions had in negotiations conceded this position a long time ago - the teachers had agreed to markedly reduce pension plan contributions (Globe 30.10.97. P. A8). It is difficult not to agree with Eileen Lennon, labeling this continued raising of the pension plan a "red herring. If so, what are the real issues behind the provoking Bill and the subsequent strike?     The "Globe and Mail" -  is of course a very open agent of the capitalist class. It took the line that the provoking bill 160 was for the "National good". It revealed that the ground work for this bill was already laid by the social democrats, the previous labour busting New Democratic party government of Bob Rae in Ontario:     The Globe states it hinges on "governmental control":        The Government has acknowledged that it will cut at least $700 million from education;     Cost cutting is the real reason to reduce preparation time :     Savings will save the Government further money :     There Are Even Bigger Issues than 'Merely' Education at Stake

    These revolve around local versus ‘central’ democracy. It entails erosion of locally school boards is more responsive to local pressure than is the education ministry. This has implications for taxing and for local government :

    Under capitalism, the ruling class will try to divide and rule. This makes it imperative that the case of the teachers is widely understood that the motives for the strike are to ensure high quality education for the children of Ontario. Bill 160 was forced through after the teachers went back to work. Mr Justice James Macpherson, who ruled against the government when it tried to declare the strike illegal, said that "The number and sweep of fundamental issues in Bill 160 puts it on a plane very close to the Charter of Rights & Freedoms". He warned that further court battle lies ahead. The teachers are determined to fight on in other ways. ________________________________________________________________________

COMMON LIES ABOUT THE OCTOBER RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Marxism-Leninism will always have to defend its history against ruling class lies. That class uses "revisionists" - who "revise" Marxism-Leninism to serve the ruling class- to spread confusion and sow doubt among those close to socialism. We focus on three of these "revisions", on the Great Russian Revolution. On the 80th Anniversary it is important to remember what the truth is.

    This claim is that Marx and Engels called for revolution in the West, and not in the Abackward@ Eastern state of Russia. This is true of their earlier hopes and writings. The Communist Manifesto in 1847 says: AThe Communists turn their attention chiefly to Germany..on the eve of a bourgeois revolution .. under more advanced conditions of European civilisation, and with a much more developed proletariat,.. the bourgeois revolution will be the prelude to an immediately following proletarian revolution.@ Marx & Engels : Manifesto Of the Communist Party, >Works@ Vol 6; Moscow; 1976; p. 519.     But as good scientists, they accepted their error in the light of the evidence - evidence of history: AHistory has proved us, and all who thought like us wrong...the state of economic development.. was not, by a long way, ripe for the removal of capitalist production: it has proved this by the economic revolution which since 1848 has seized the whole of the Continent, has really caused big industry for the first time to take root in France, Austria, Hungary, Poland and recently in Russia, while it has made Germany positively an industrial country of the first rank- all on a capitalist basis which in the year 1848, therefore, still had great capacity for expansion.@ Engels :@Preface to Marx: AClass struggles in France@; written in March 1895. They proclaimed as evidence mounted, that the revolutionary wave would hit Russia early on: "In Russia the revolution has begun...We cannot deny that bourgeois society has experienced its 16th century a second time.. The specific task of bourgeois society is the establishment of the world market... the difficult question for us is this: On the continent the revolution is imminent and will also immediately assume a socialist character. Is it not bound to be crushed in this little corner, considering that in far greater territory the movement of bourgeois society is still in the ascendant?" Marx : Letter to Engels, London, October 8, 1858; p. 103

AThis time the revolution will begin in the East, hitherto the unbroken bulwark and reserve army of the counter-revolution.@ Marx Letter to Sorge, Sep 27, 1877; In Marx & Engels; ASelected Correspondence@; Moscow 1955 p. 289.
AAnd now Russia! During the revolutions of 1848-49 not only the European princes, but the European bourgeoisie as well, found their only salvation from the proletariat, just beginning to awaken, in Russian intervention. The tsar was proclaimed the chief of European reaction. Today he is a prisoner of war of the revolution, in Gatchina, and Russia forms the vanguard of revolutionary action in Europe.@ Marx & Engels, 1882 Preface to the Russian edition of the Communist manifesto.@ Cited in Dutt R.P. >Problems of Contemporary History=; London; 1963; p.88.

AIt almost looks like the next dance is going to start in Russia. And if this happens while the inevitable war between the German-Prussian empire and Russia are in progress- which is very likely- repercussions in Germany are also inevitable." Engels To Bebel; October 15th, 1875. In Selected Correspondence@ Ibid; p. 282.

AWhat I know or believe I know about the situation in Russia makes me think the Russian are approaching their 1789. The revolution must break out any day.. The country is like a charged mine.... To me .. impulse in Russia should be given, that the revolution should break out.. If it were a palace conspiracy it would be swept away tomorrow. In a country where the revolutionary elements have accumulated to such a degree, where the economic conditions of the enormous mass of the people become daily more impossible, where every stage of social development is represented, from the primitive commune to modern large scale industry and high finance, and where all these contradictions are arbitrarily held in check by an unexampled despotism, a despotism which is becoming more and more unbearable to a youth in whom the dignity and intelligence of the nation are united- when 1789 has once been launched in such a country, 1793 will not be far away.@ Engels to Vera Zasulich; April 1885;@Selected Correspondence@ Ibid; p. 362-3.

    We must conclude, that far from viewing the revolution as likely to break out first in the West, the mature Marx and Engels viewed it as breaking out first in Russia, and they encouraged that.     Of course this Trotskyite view, states that it was Aimpossible to build socialism in one country@, and it is linked to the first Arevisionist allegation@, above. In reality, Lenin and Stalin were in full agreement that it was possible to build socialism in one country, but that ultimately it was not possible to maintain socialism indefinitely without the world revolution breaking out. This is very different to the view of Trotsky. Stalin points out that Lenin argued : AUneven economic and political development is an absolute law of capitalism. Hence the victory of socialism is possible first in several or even in one capitalist country taken separately. The victorious proletariat of that country, having expropriated the capitalists and organised socialist production, would stand up against the rest of the world, the capitalist world, attracting to its cause the oppressed classes of other countries, raising revolts in those countries against the capitalists, and in the event of necessity coming out with armed force against the exploiting classes, and their states.@ Lenin; From Volume XVIII pp 232-33. Cited by Stalin AConcerning Questions of Leninism@; In AProblems of Leninism@ Moscow; 1954; p. 195.

AAs a matter of fact, state power over all large scale means of production, state power in the hands of the proletariat, the alliance of this proletariat with the many millions of small and very small peasants, the assured leadership of the peasantry by the proletariat etc; - is not this all that is necessary for building a complete socialist society from the cooperatives, from the cooperatives alone, which we formerly looked down upon.. Is this not all that is necessary for building a complete socialist society? This is not yet the building of socialist society, but it is all that is necessary and sufficient for this building.@ Lenin; >On Cooperation=; Vol XXVII p.382; Cited by Stalin Ibid; p. 196.

    In accordance with this, Stalin went on to lead the USSR to socialism which was declared established by a new constitution in 1936.
    IN CONCLUSION there was no divergence between Lenin and Stalin on the possibility of building socialism in one country.     This is the basis of the so called "Parliamentary Road to Socialism", the especial feature of Khruschevite revisionism. This is still heard from social democrats, but even more concerning, it is still heard from those who call themselves Acommunists@. Unfortunately, the bitter lessons of Chile have still not yet been fully learnt. It is as well that Lenin pointed out explicitly that : ADictatorship is rule based directly upon force and unrestricted by any laws. The revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is rule won and maintained by the use of violence by the proletariat against the bourgeoisie, rule that is unrestricted by any laws.@ Lenin:@The Proletarian revolution & The Renegade Kautsky@; ASelected Works in 3 Vols@ Moscow; 1964; Vol 3. p.75.     To those who pointed out that Marx had allowed that in Britain and possibly America, it might be possible to have a peaceable revolution, Lenin replied : "This was understandable in 1871 when Britain was still the model of a purely capitalist country, but without a militarist clique, without a bureaucracy. Marx therefore excluded Britain where a revolution even a peoples= revolution, then seemed possible.. Without the precondition of destroying the Aready made state machinery@. Today in 1917, at the time of the first great imperialist war this restriction made by Marx is no longer valid. Both Britain and America.. Have completely sunk .. into the filthy, bloody morass of bureaucratic-military institution.. Today in Britain and America, too, AThe precondition for every people=s revolution@ is the smashing, the destruction of the Aready made state machinery@. Lenin The State & Revolution; Volume 2 Selected Works; 1963; p. 264. Even more today, is Marx=s exemption of violent revolution, in any country outdated.

___________________________________________________________________________________________NEWS FROM STATS CANADA : JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS : GAP BETWEEN RICH & POOR GETS BIGGER.
(Figures Only in hard copy)
An Old Folk Song from the 1800’s, Days Of The Industrial Revolution Goes:

"Oh Dear me,
The World’s ill divided;
Them that works the hardest,
are the least provided."
Well nothing has really changed.

In 1997, there was a good growth of the Canadian economy. Yet in that year, a survey by Statistics Canada (Statscan) : "Incomes Distributions in Canada" found that of 35,000 households in April, the poorest one-fifth were actually getting worse off.
    These poorest families, the poorest one fifth of people, had lost 3.1% of their total family income in 1996. And their average income fell from $17,882.00 the year previously to $17,334.00. Where did that lost income gone to? It was lost from both a loss of income and a loss of government subsidies. And what about the richest families? Well, they got even richer. Their average income rose from $112,882.00 to $114,874.00. It is not just a blip in the figures - a chance event. Because since 1993, the average income rose 4.3% since 1993.
    Looked at in another way :

"The percentage of the country’s real income that found its way into the hands of the poorest fifth of Canadian families fell to 6.1% in 1996, lower than at any time in the 1980's and 1990's. At the same time the richest fifth captured 40.6% of the country’s total income, the highest recorded over the two decades." Globe And Mail; December 23rd, 1997; pp.A1, A10. Remember the huge profits that the banks made out of us in Canada? Remember that, and listen to this, also from Statscan. This is the amount Statscan thinks would have been enough to raise Canadians out of the poverty level : "Statscan estimated that 5.3 million Canadians were below the agency’s low-income cutoffs last year. Since 1989, the number of poor people has risen by 40.4 %. And the depth of their poverty has worsened dramatically. Statscan estimates that it would have taken $19.3 billion to lift all the poor families above the low-income cut-off line in 1996." Cited in Globe & Mail; December 23rd, 1997; p A10. _________________________________________________________

WHAT HAPPENS TO EX-MINISTERS AND EX-PRIME MINISTERS?
From Business Section Globe & Mail, March 2nd 1998; p.B8.

PICTURE "The Hon. David R.Peterson PC, QC. Smiling & Bold. (Pictures only in hard copy)

TEXT "Madan M Bhayana Chairman and Chief Executive officer of Office specialty Inc, is pleased to announce the election of The Honorable David R Peterson PC, QC, to the Company’s Board of Directors. Following a distinguished career in politics which included serving as Premier of the Proven of Ontario between 1985 and 1990, the Hone David Peterson became a senior partner in the Toronto law firm of Cassels, Braock & Blackwell. He currently practices corporate/commercial law as well as international law trade with the. He is Chairman of Chapters Inc, and Founding Chairman of the Toronto Raptors Basketball Club Inc. He is also a director of a number of major corporations and is active on the Boards of several cultural, environmental and sports foundation. "

PICTURE OF "Frank McKenna" – Grinning.

TEXT: "Mr. Andre Leroux Chairman & CEO of Leroux Steel takes great please in welcoming Mr. Frank McKenna as a director of the company. Mr. McKenna recently ended a ten year tenure as Premier of the province of New Brunswisk during which he played a leading role in promoting his province in the international business community. His political legacy includes the creation of countless new jobs and sweeping reforms of the Province’s health, education & social programs. A lawyer by profession, Mr. McKenna is now a member of the law firm of McInnes Coop & Robertson in Moncton New Brunswick …. Mr. McKenna also serves the Board of Directors of Bruncor, Major Drilling Grover International & the Bank of Montreal and is a member of the Team Canada Inc. Advisory Board. Leroux Steel is on of the largest steel distributor in Canada and a growing presence.." Business sections &G&M; March 5th; 1998.

TEXTIf you read the above news item on poverty in Canada, you might be interested to read this snippet from the Globe And mail’s Business News. So someone again try to tell us, that those in Government are not part of Big Business and share their interests. Every time there is a change in government, if you watch the business news, sooner or later - the weasels will appear - stuffed with company directorships and the like. There is only one way to change all this - and that is the Socialist Revolution.



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