The crisis in the communist movement – we need to go back to Lenin

We publish here a contribution by Alan Woods to the pre-congress debate of the Brazilian Communist Party – Revolutionary Refoundation. The PCB-RR gathers the comrades who were bureaucratically expelled from the PCB in July – August 2023, after they raised a whole number of political differences, including regarding the question of the character of the war in Ukraine. We would like to thank the Provisional Political Committee of the PCB-RR for the opportunity for this exchange of ideas amongst Communists and we wish them success in their congress, which is taking place at the end of the month.

This week marks the 200th anniversary of the public premier of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, one of the most astoundingly brilliant musical compositions in history. Despite being functionally deaf by 1824, Beethoven personally conducted the premiere in Vienna, continuing his wild gesticulations after the final note had faded, amidst rapturous applause. The performance and the piece itself, often called the ‘Marseilles of Humanity’, were a defiant rallying cry for freedom and brotherhood in a period of counterrevolutionary reaction. To mark the occasion, we republish ‘Beethoven: man, composer and revolutionary’ by our editor-in-chief, Alan Woods.

Last year saw the 100th anniversary of the birth of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister, and the man at the heart of the state today. The anniversary was marked by a torrent of remembrances of the figure once described by Richard Nixon as “a big man on a small stage who in other times and other places, might have attained the world stature of a Churchill, Disraeli or a Gladstone”.

Publicamos aqui uma contribuição de Alan Woods ao debate pré-congresso do Partido Comunista Brasileiro - Refundação Revolucionária. O PCB-RR reúne camaradas que foram burocraticamente expulsos do PCB em julho-agosto de 2023, depois de terem levantado toda uma série de divergências políticas, inclusive em relação à questão da natureza da guerra na Ucrânia. Queremos agradecer à Comissão Política Nacional Provisória do PCB-RR pela oportunidade desta troca de ideias entre os comunistas e desejar-lhes sucesso no seu congresso que terá lugar no final do mês. O artigo foi publicado na Tribuna de Debates do congresso PCB-RR com a seguinte introdução:

Publicamos aquí una contribución de Alan Woods al debate pre-congresual del Partido Comunista Brasileño - Refundación Revolucionaria. El PCB-RR reúne a los camaradas que fueron expulsados burocráticamente del PCB en julio-agosto de 2023, después de que plantearan toda una serie de diferencias políticas, incluyendo en relación a la cuestión del carácter de la guerra en Ucrania. Queremos agradecer al Comité Político Provisional Nacional del PCB-RR la oportunidad de este intercambio de ideas entre comunistas y les deseamos éxito en su congreso que tendrá lugar a finales de mes. El artículo fue publicado como parte de la Tribuna de Debates del congreso PCB-RR con la siguiente introducción:

L’attacco su Rafah, pianificato da tempo, è iniziato. Lunedì 6 maggio, l’IDF ha lanciato attacchi aerei sulla città e ha ordinato l’evacuazione di circa 100mila palestinesi dai quartieri orientali verso le cosiddette “zone umanitarie” di al-Mawasi, verso la costa, e un’area a ovest di Khan Younis.

Rozpoczął się długo planowany atak na Rafah. W poniedziałek 6 maja siły IDF rozpoczęły naloty na miasto i wezwały do ewakuacji około 100 tys. Palestyńczyków z jego wschodnich dzielnic do tak zwanych „stref humanitarnych” w przybrzeżnym Al-Mawasi i obszaru na zachód od Chan Junus.