Public Release of "The Line
of March to a New Society":
An Event of Broad and Far-Reaching
Significance
It marked a fitting beginning to the work of RCPB(ML) in the
new century that the Party organised on Saturday, January 8, the launch and
public release of the book "The Line of March to a New Society". This
document comprises the Political Report to the Party’s 3rd Congress on the
Work of the Central Committee. The Report was adopted at the Congress in March
last year, and in its published form reflects also the contributions made to it
by the deliberations of the Congress.
The public release of the book took the form of a rally and a
millennium social held at the Conway Hall in London. This venue was also where
both the Party’s general line document, There Is a Way Out of the
Crisis, and its Draft Programme for the Working Class were launched.
This could not fail to have been in the minds of those comrades and activists
of the Party who had been present on those occasions, reflecting on how the
Party was continuing to advance along its line of march, despite all the
pressures in capitalist society to deviate from or abandon altogether this
path, a path which prepares to bring about a socialist Britain in the 21st
century. The Party had held its 3rd Congress and was here publishing its most
important conclusions and deliberations, a book which itself would become an
instrument to provide impetus and theoretical and practical guidance to the
tasks of preparing for the revolutionary storms which this new century holds in
store. To those activists and sympathisers who had not been at those occasions
or were new to the Party’s work, including the youth of the 1990s who are
setting out on the work to build a bright future for themselves in this
century, the occasion also held a great excitement as they shared with the
Party its vision of a new society, a society where their affirmation can be
given a concrete reality.
The theme which imbued the whole occasion was of the
necessity to begin the 21st century by redoubling the work to open the path to
a new society, a socialist society. So at the same time as the launch was full
of optimism for the future, it also brought home to the participants the scale
of the work which lies ahead and strengthened the determination to carry out
that work with honour and consolidate the Party as that subjective force which
is the most decisive in the preparation for the coming revolutionary storms.
The rally was opened by Chris Coleman, National
Spokesperson of RCBP(ML), who welcomed everyone who had come from up and down
the country, from the regions, as well as from Ireland and from Europe, to
attend the event. The main presentation was given by a representative of the
Central Committee, who spoke to the Report. He explained that the significance
of the 3rd Congress as we start the new millennium is that it has opened up the
line of march that will take us to a new society, a socialist Britain, and that
is why the Party had given the Congress Report the title, "The Line of
March to a New Society". Pointing out that the 21st century ahead will be
a century of unprecedented revolutionary transformations, he said that the task
before us is to prepare the subjective conditions for revolution. The Political
Report, he said, brings out that it is the work of the Party and its Central
Committee which brought us to the 3rd Congress and has enabled us to stand on
our own feet. In the tasks ahead which are required to lift society out of the
crisis and open the door to a socialist Britain, what is necessary is that
RCPB(ML) be consolidated on the new historical basis. He went on to highlight
that to go into the 21st century on the basis of Tony Blair’s "Third
Way" is actually to deny that there is an aim in society, and to offer no
future for the broad masses of the people. The Political Report, he said, pays
particular attention to exposing the illusions of the "Third Way"
which are designed to conciliate the class struggle and create illusions about
the capitalist system, that the crisis can be overcome within its confines. He
underlined that the Report stresses that it is now more than ever crucial that
the working class and people of Britain unite in a consistent programme against
Tony Blair’s "Third Way". At the same time, all serious groups
and individuals should work to strengthen and consolidate the communist and
workers’ movement in Britain. In his presentation, the representative of
the Central Committee highlighted the importance of the independent programme
of the working class, Stop Paying the Rich – Increase Investments in
Social Programmes! He stressed the importance of not turning that programme
itself into a series of policy objectives but of organising the working class
in occupying the space for change on appropriate fronts of that programme. He
emphasised the plan of the Party to build itself in the heart of the working
class, and the importance of the cutting-edge work to Improve the Content,
Extend the Readership of the Party’s newspaper in this connection.
Carrying on with this theme, in conclusion the Central
Committee representative announced the launching of a millennium project for
the Party. The Party is to establish and build a Workers’ Resource Centre
to assist the work of building groups of writers and disseminators of the
newspaper in the working class and other sections of the people. It is also
launching the Workers’ Daily Internet Edition of the newspaper.
Finally, and most importantly, it is launching a further development of the
Party’s press project to build a fully professional publishing house to
serve the needs of the working class and communist movement and the movement
for enlightenment and in defence of the rights of all which the developments of
the 21st century will demand.
Following the presentation, a number of enthusiastic
contributions were given by a number of individuals and organisations,
including one from the Workers’ Weekly Youth Group, who pointed out that
the Party at its 3rd Congress had said the youth need their collectives to put
forward their own agenda, and the youth have established their collective and
the work has begun.
After a break where the hall buzzed with discussion as the
book, "The Line of March to a New Society" was bought, admired and
read, a millennium social was organised in evening. A beautiful meal was served
and a cultural programme held. The social was held in a very comradely and
optimistic atmosphere and concluded with singing and dancing.
