Let’s Make the BA Everywhere Dinners a Big Time to Raise Money to Get Out BA’s Message and Build Community
March 12, 2016 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Next weekend in cities across the country people will come together to break bread, get into Bob Avakian (BA) and what he’s all about, and wrangle with revolution. We want to offer some thoughts on how to make these dinners be real successes, real advances for revolution.
First, we’re reprinting an excerpt from BA’s talk The Strategic Approach to Revolution and Its Relation to Basic Questions of Epistemology and Method, which gets into the relation of BA Everywhere to making revolution. Here, in this article, we want to call people’s attention in particular to this passage from the excerpt:
BA Everywhere is a way of providing a leading edge to all of our work—to the ensemble, and our revolutionary work as a whole— and providing a revolutionary communist foundation for that work, even as, as I’ve been emphasizing, there needs to be ongoing struggle to forge the work of BA Everywhere itself on an actual basis of revolution and communism, and not have it be turned into something else. And this is another contradiction we have to handle correctly. Just because it’s true objectively that what’s concentrated in the new synthesis of communism and the leadership of BA is, in fact, the scientific foundation and strategic approach to revolution and communism, doesn’t mean that it can’t be transformed into something else in how it’s taken up and approached. Everything in the world is contradiction, and everything in the world can be turned into its opposite, through struggle. And, you know, we’ve seen that: the dictatorship of the proletariat could be turned into the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie without dropping the name “dictatorship of the proletariat”; or socialism can be turned into capitalism with or without—and often without—dropping the name “socialism.” And communism can be turned into its opposite without ever dropping the name “communism.” So it’s a matter of the substance of this. It’s a matter of the method and approach. It’s a matter of the science. It’s a matter of whether what is being brought forward when we’re carrying out BA Everywhere is actually what it represents and embodies—namely, the new synthesis of communism and leadership toward the goal of revolution and communism—or whether it’s fashioned into something else, transformed into its opposite, in effect.
At the same time—and as the other side of yet another important contradiction—this campaign of BA Everywhere is not and should not be understood and approached as a flat linear thing of just reaching out and involving people in whatever way they can be involved, at whatever level of unity they might seek to find and whatever way we can get them to contribute to BA Everywhere. But it’s a matter of correctly handling this very important contradiction between the leading aspect—and it does need to be the leading aspect—of what is represented by the leadership of BA and the new synthesis of communism, on the one hand; and, on the other hand, the fact that objectively there is a basis for many people to be involved in this campaign who do not agree, even with the goal of communism, let alone with everything that is represented in the new synthesis of communism and the leadership of BA.
So, on the one hand, another way this contradiction is posed or could be posed is that BA Everywhere is not just a campaign in some general sense, it’s not a flat linear thing, but in fact constitutes a form of class struggle in the ideological realm— understood, again, not in some sort of economist, narrow reified way, but struggle in the ideological realm over what is the problem and solution in the world, to put it that way, and what role does the new synthesis of communism and the leadership of BA play in relation to that. All that, on the one hand, being a form of ideological struggle, not just simply putting this out and seeing what people think about it, but engaging them in active ideological struggle about what’s true about this—all that, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, actually having the orientation and actively seeking the means to involve many people, and growing numbers of people, who at any given time are not won, or not fully won, to that but do think that it’s very important that the questions raised by what’s concentrated in BA Everywhere—whither humanity, if you will: what is the problem, what is the solution, what is going on in the world, why is it going on, does it have to go on, if there’s a solution to it, what is the solution, how do we bring about that solution—all those big questions that are very much at the heart of what the new synthesis of communism and the leadership of BA is all about, all those questions need to be out there in society having major impact. Everyone who recognizes that, with whatever disagreements they may have, we should be working to find the ways, and working with them to involve them in finding the ways, for them to contribute to this campaign, even while we carry forward and carry out the ideological struggle over all that with them, as well as more broadly.
Again, I spoke about the mass initiatives, and I referred to something I wrote recently about who should be involved in these mass initiatives, and on the other hand what is our approach to them, coming from where we need to be coming from. Well, the same applies to BA Everywhere. Who should be involved in BA Everywhere? Everyone who recognizes (or, once again, can be won—through struggle, let me emphasize—to see) that the questions raised by the new synthesis of communism and what is represented by BA as the concentration of the leadership around that new synthesis, that all that needs to be out in society in a big way, having a major impact in society, actively being discussed and debated, even while many such people may not agree with all or even perhaps much of the actual content of that new synthesis of communism and what is represented by the leadership of BA. But everyone who thinks it’s important for the questions that are raised by that, the big questions it raises, to be out in society in a major way—impacting society and the discourse in society, the debate and struggle in society in a major way—all such people are people who potentially can be and who need to be involved in BA Everywhere. Just as in the two mass initiatives, everyone who understands, or can be won to see, that the outrages these mass initiatives are taking up are intolerable and must be fought against needs to be involved, and potentially can be involved, in these mass initiatives, even while we are bringing forward our full understanding of not only what is represented by what these mass initiatives are taking up, but the overall context into which it fits in society and the world as a whole.
See the full excerpt: "The Ensemble of Revolutionary Work Now"
The above is important and pretty straightforward. It deserves real reflection, and repeated returning to. One thing: there is no need for—and no place for—gimmicks. Just take out BA, in a mass way. There is certainly plenty of material with which to do this—beginning with the Six Resolutions recently passed by the Party’s Central Committee (which does provide a very concentrated introduction for people on the significance of BA’s leadership), the key works he’s brought forward, the various posters and cards made of his quotes, etc.
People responsible for leading this need to make good plans, or review and follow up on the ones they’ve made. If they have made plans they should be returning to, reviewing and “refreshing” these plans. They should be asking themselves what we are learning about the key social and political “eco-systems” which need to be systematically worked within, and what are the key links within those systems. What are the social forces and who are the individuals we’ve reached, and who do we need to get to? What are we learning in the process of doing this?
To take an example that gives a sense of what we mean, in building for the dialogue between Bob Avakian and Cornel West on “Revolution and Religion: The Fight for Emancipation and the Role of Religion” in New York City in 2014, comrades focused in on several key “eco-systems.” There was the Harlem community, with some of the housing projects as a key link; the religious community, with Union Theological Seminary as a key link; and Columbia University, as well as the progressive strata in New York more broadly. Analysis was made, plans were made, experience was summed up and progress charted—daily. We learned more about the dynamics of these “eco-systems” even as we were changing them. Where necessary—and it was often necessary—modifications were made on the basis of summing up experience. If such plans have not been made—or, more likely, if they have been made but need to be much more fleshed out and further developed—this needs to happen, now.
Second, plans depend on PEOPLE. And there are plenty of people, with plenty of ties and ideas and creativity, right now, to unite with and unleash. People who came to the mass meetings on the resolution process; people who came to the campus tour by Carl Dix and Sunsara Taylor (“If you are serious about changing the world and want to know what a REAL revolution is: An Invitation…to Meet the Revolution”), or who are helping to build it where it is soon to come; people who participated in Rise Up October or in the movement against patriarchy, especially as concentrated in the fight for the right to abortion and birth control; certainly people who have shown interest in taking up the study of BA’s new work, The Science, the Strategy, the Leadership for an Actual Revolution, and a Radically New Society on the Road to Real Emancipation. Then there are the many people who came to the Dialogue between BA and Cornel West, or have come to film showings. There are people now coming into political life in other ways to whom we should be reaching out. And, again, we should be pulling together a core, or cores, of people as we do this, and stretching a line into other movements and sections of the people.
Third, very importantly, we need to lead others to continually sum up the process of struggling with people to come to the dinner: what are the key questions coming up, what are we learning from people, how are these questions rooted in material reality and what are they telling us about it, how do we further push this struggle forward. In this light, it is worth going back to part of what we reprinted above:
[BA Everywhere] constitutes a form of class struggle in the ideological realm—understood, again, not in some sort of economist, narrow reified way, but struggle in the ideological realm over what is the problem and solution in the world, to put it that way, and what role does the new synthesis of communism and the leadership of BA play in relation to that. All that, on the one hand, being a form of ideological struggle, not just simply putting this out and seeing what people think about it, but engaging them in active ideological struggle about what's true about this—all that, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, actually having the orientation and actively seeking the means to involve many people, and growing numbers of people, who at any given time are not won, or not fully won, to that but do think that it's very important that the questions raised by what's concentrated in BA Everywhere—whither humanity, if you will: what is the problem, what is the solution, what is going on in the world, why is it going on, does it have to go on, if there's a solution to it, what is the solution, how do we bring about that solution—all those big questions that are very much at the heart of what the new synthesis of communism and the leadership of BA is all about, all those questions need to be out there in society having major impact.
Okay, so it would follow that we should be summing up how we are doing in that struggle all along the way. This is a process of ideological struggle, polarization, more ideological struggle, repolarization…and on and on. And when we are pushing for something crucial, that means summing up every day and sometimes more than that!
Fourth, as we do this, we need to further involve people in the real tasks of building the dinner and making the dinner really be something fitting to BA and what he represents—something really together, really welcoming, but really conveying at the same time what BA is all about and what this movement is all about. These kinds of tasks are not only essential, but they are good ways for people to get into things.
Fifth, BA Everywhere is a fund-raising campaign, and we should be raising plenty of funds going into this. BA and what he’s all about need to be out there in general, but certainly right now, in the midst of the turmoil and questioning about the future, the need for this is underlined all the more. Shouldn’t people be buying premium tickets, and not just for themselves but for friends? Shouldn’t we be asking people for ideas on who else to go to? We should be encouraging people to write checks to The Bob Avakian Institute. Right now people are giving money, lots of money, to presidential candidates who at best are promoting deadly illusions and touching up a status quo of a society in which millions are ground down and oppressed every day, rooted in the horror of American domination of the world and everything that means for the seven billion people on the planet. Shouldn’t they give to something that promises REAL hope, on a solid scientific foundation? And shouldn’t we be struggling with them to do so?
Sixth, plan now what’s going to happen at the dinners—and what comes out of the dinners. How will the dinners themselves embody the kind of community we want to build, prefiguring the revolution and the new society we are fighting to bring into being? How are people going to be “invited into” BA Everywhere? What kinds of ways will there be for many different kinds of people to not just “plug into” already-arranged activities—which there should be—but to bring their ideas and understanding into things?
Finally, leadership is everything. For the next week, leadership needs to be in the field with people, continually wielding the line of this editorial, modeling how to carry out this work, and insisting that people stay on message.
And then, next weekend—let’s go all out and have real fun!!
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