Revolution #56, August 13, 2006

Question and Answer Sessions from Bob Avakian’s Talks Now On-Line

Three weeks ago we announced the posting of important new talks by Bob Avakian, Chairman of the RCP,USA, on bobavakian.net and here on revcom.us. As we said last issue, “These talks are truly pathbreaking explorations in communist theory and its application to a breathtaking range of questions, including political questions which are urgently and sharply posed in today’s situation. They are also living laboratories in the communist method and approach to the world.”

This week there will be a further dimension given to all this, as the question and answer sessions for these talks go up on these sites.

This Q&A includes an answer to the following question:

“My question deals with some of the material from the two series: ‘Views on Socialism and Communism’ and ‘The Basis, the Goals, and the Methods of the Communist Revolution.’

"I’ve been thinking about two things: One is a statement by Arundhati Roy in an interview where she basically said (this is paraphrasing), ‘I support the Maoists in India even though I would probably be the first person they would kill.’ Second I’ve also been thinking about this in relation to the need to make a distinction as you’ve emphasized between those who are actively plotting to overthrow the socialist state and those who are just dissenting or even vehemently opposed to it, but not actively plotting to overthrow it.

“My question is – taking into account the socialist experience and the very secondary aspect where Arundhati Roy might have a point based on what happened in China and also taking into account the particularity of India and the particularities of this country: what should communists say to the Arundhati Roys of the world in relation to this contradiction and why should they believe us?”

A wide range of other questions were raised and taken up, over 20 in all, going from the importance of taking on the relativism and positivism in today’s climate, to the need to embrace non-communist ideas; from the oppression of Black people, to the situation in Latin America and its relation to the world situation; from key political struggles today and their relation to the urgent need for revolution, to the role of coaching in basketball . . . and many, many more. The answers to these questions – along with the “Concluding Remarks,” which are also going up on the site – give you a living sense of communism: not only the vision of communist society and the struggle to get there (though many of the questions touch on different aspects of that) but of the genuinely communist approach to all spheres of society. They give you as well a very living sense of Chairman Avakian, listening intently to and delving deeply into these questions as they come up.

We invite you to come listen to these sessions; as we’ve said before, there’s really nothing like this in the world today.

Send us your comments.

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