By: Daniel Nardini
In this day of age, it does not seem that there are too many people in the world (never mind too many people in the United States) being influenced and motivated by Communist ideas and Communist ideology. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, one does not read anything anymore about Communist movements or Communist parties or Communist acts of terror or Communist oppression or Communist anything in the U.S. news media. These days we read and see on the Internet information on extremist religious ideas and websites—be they Christian, Muslim or Jewish (haven’t seen anything on radical Buddhism out there yet, but it is not impossible). Sometimes there are extreme nationalist and maybe extreme anarchist ideas and websites, but there are not too many leftist and pro-communist websites in this country.
However, I can assure you that the Communist movement is not only far from dead, but it is alive and well. Believe it or not, four new Communist parties were founded in the first decade of the 21st Century. These four Communist parties are the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (2003), the Bhutan Communist Party (2003), the Revolutionary Democratic Party of Indonesia (2006), and last year the Communist Party of Venezuela (2011—resurrected from when it was disbanded in 1991). The Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist, is made up of former rebels who fought and destroyed the Nepali monarchy in a bitter civil war and helped make Nepal a republic. They wish to make Nepal a communist state. The Bhutan Communist Party is in exile in Nepal. It wants to make Bhutan a republic and eventually a communist state. The Revolutionary Democratic Party of Indonesia wants to make all of Indonesia a communist state (fat chance). Of course, the Communist Party of Venezuela wants to make Venezuela a total communist state (strangely enough it has actually been in conflict with current Venezuelan President and self-declared socialist Hugo Chavez. This is more over tactics rather than ideology).
What do these four and other Communist parties have in common? They know that on their own they cannot create communist states. So, they will work with those who amass great power and following to be able to achieve their objectives. There used to be a Communist Movement largely centered in the former Soviet Union, but since it no longer exists these parties have far more flexibility to be able to do what they want to do. They can and they are forming fronts with more powerful progressive and leftist organizations and mass movements to help influence them. This is taking place in a number of countries as I speak. Where there is great poverty and inequality, where there is a group of people with too much power, money and privilege in place, and where there is economic, social and political instability, the Communists will exploit it. And there are many places in the world where these conditions exist. I have only mentioned four possibilities. So despite popular conceptions, the Communist Movement is far from dead. In this mixed up world of ours, we should consider that this is one more possibility that can happen and have an impact on America if albeit indirectly.
The Reds Are Still There
By: Daniel Nardini
However, I can assure you that the Communist movement is not only far from dead, but it is alive and well. Believe it or not, four new Communist parties were founded in the first decade of the 21st Century. These four Communist parties are the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (2003), the Bhutan Communist Party (2003), the Revolutionary Democratic Party of Indonesia (2006), and last year the Communist Party of Venezuela (2011—resurrected from when it was disbanded in 1991). The Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist, is made up of former rebels who fought and destroyed the Nepali monarchy in a bitter civil war and helped make Nepal a republic. They wish to make Nepal a communist state. The Bhutan Communist Party is in exile in Nepal. It wants to make Bhutan a republic and eventually a communist state. The Revolutionary Democratic Party of Indonesia wants to make all of Indonesia a communist state (fat chance). Of course, the Communist Party of Venezuela wants to make Venezuela a total communist state (strangely enough it has actually been in conflict with current Venezuelan President and self-declared socialist Hugo Chavez. This is more over tactics rather than ideology).
What do these four and other Communist parties have in common? They know that on their own they cannot create communist states. So, they will work with those who amass great power and following to be able to achieve their objectives. There used to be a Communist Movement largely centered in the former Soviet Union, but since it no longer exists these parties have far more flexibility to be able to do what they want to do. They can and they are forming fronts with more powerful progressive and leftist organizations and mass movements to help influence them. This is taking place in a number of countries as I speak. Where there is great poverty and inequality, where there is a group of people with too much power, money and privilege in place, and where there is economic, social and political instability, the Communists will exploit it. And there are many places in the world where these conditions exist. I have only mentioned four possibilities. So despite popular conceptions, the Communist Movement is far from dead. In this mixed up world of ours, we should consider that this is one more possibility that can happen and have an impact on America if albeit indirectly.