“We must demand the impossible, demand the future, and not let anything get in our way.”

[Originally published at communist.red]

These words summed up our most inspiring RCP Summer Camp to date, held from 23-26 July in the Peak District.

Two hundred communists from every corner of the country gathered this past weekend in the countryside to better grasp the power of Marxist ideas.

The RCP banner for the event depicted a communist climbing a mountain. We, too, spent the long weekend on our ascent, broadening the horizons of our understanding through discussing the general features of world politics today.

Over the course of many sessions, we discussed: the death of the US empire; the weakness of European capitalism; world debt and the crisis in the world economy; the crisis of reformism; the polarisation in society; and the radicalisation of the youth.

From sharp polemics against the Frankfurt School and Sylvia Federici; to stirring presentations on the role of the individual in history, the beginnings of philosophy, and art; the Summer Camp provided the perfect opportunity for leading comrades to delve deeper into theory.

The camp framed learning as a fire to be lit, rather than a vessel to be filled. With that in mind, we sold £5,000 worth of Marxist literature – which is a pledge by all of us to sharpen up our theoretical level over the summer.

All comrades that attended were brimming with enthusiasm, and hardened in their resolve to build the RCP. As two of our members answered, when asked what their favourite part of the event was:

“Perspectives for the American revolution. So inspiring. No doubt in my mind it’s on the horizon.” – Sol, Birmingham

“I loved hearing about the Cockroach Janta Party and the Long March in ‘Azad’ Kashmir. Historically divided by British imperialism, brought together once again by class struggle. The workers in the Indian subcontinent will build a new society, where they can truly be free.” – Sanmay, Bristol

Seething anger

Two defining themes emerged from the discussions throughout the weekend.

On the one hand, there is a seething mood of hatred towards the status quo. As the old world order crumbles, society is undergoing a profound moment of ideological questioning.

On the other hand, there is a huge political vacuum on the left – a vacuum that has allowed others to channel this mood of rage.

The rise of Reform and far-right grifters like Tommy Robinson was not inevitable. It is a direct consequence of the so-called ‘left’ doing nothing to address the material and economic insecurities of working-class communities. What a damning indictment.

The working class is increasingly beginning to connect the dots between wars abroad and austerity at home; wage restraints for the poor, alongside handouts for the bankers; political repression and legal reprisals for standing up against genocide, whilst the British state shares intelligence for Israel’s next target.

As consciousness is churned up by events on a daily basis, the youth are instinctively beginning to reject capitalism. The sentiment we are finding on the streets is clear: burn it all down.

Our tasks

The contradictions of capitalism are producing an enormous political radicalisation. But there remains no revolutionary expression for this process. That is the responsibility before us.

As was stressed throughout the weekend, we need to place the party increasingly on a war footing. If we are serious about preparing the forces of communism for the explosive events ahead, then we must strengthen our apparatus and seize the moment.

With this in mind, we launched a national subs drive to take on two new full-time revolutionaries for the RCP.

The first aim is to develop our work amongst black and Asian workers and youth, and to help nationally coordinate our interventions in anti-racist struggles.

Fiona Lali’s plenary session on the role of racism as a weapon in the hands of the British establishment stressed the need for communists to be armed with a programme capable of cutting across this poison.

The bankruptcy of liberal anti-racism is obvious. Whilst many young people are physically defending their communities against the far right, they look at much of the existing left and see a ‘movement’ detached from their reality. They see moral preaching, symbolic gestures, and counter-protests organised miles down the road.

Is it any surprise that many angry, radicalised youth feel politically homeless?

Our task is to provide a genuine class alternative. The ideas discussed at the summer camp are the greatest weapon in the hands of the youth.

We are increasingly standing out in practice through our interventions against Britain First in Manchester, and by establishing ourselves as the revolutionary wing of the anti-racist struggle in Sheffield and Leeds.

We are also the only organisation consistently highlighting the revolutionary history of black and Asian struggles as part of the broader fight for socialism. Expanding this work with a dedicated full-timer will allow us to reach thousands more.

The second task is to strengthen our youth work.

As we gathered in the countryside, some 4,000 miles away the Indian youth movement forced the resignation of the hated education minister as the Gen Z movement reached a new height.

This is not an isolated phenomenon. The same combustible material – the anger against corruption, nepotism, unemployment – is gathering beneath the surface in Britain.

Unlike ten years ago, campuses today are not crowded with competing political organisations fighting for influence. There is a huge political vacuum. Marxist ideas have an unprecedented opportunity to take root.

We finished the year with 350 students, making us the largest left-wing group in universities nationally. Now we must build on this success.

The students arriving this autumn will likely graduate around the time of the next general election. They will face the same dead end presented by the establishment: support Labour as the ‘lesser evil’ to prevent Reform from getting into power.

There could be no better time to organise, educate, and train a new generation of communist fighters capable of cutting across these false choices with a revolutionary programme. A new London youth organiser at the national centre will help us plant our flag on even more campuses, and build strongholds at the key universities.

Unresting optimists

Ultimately, these targets are only a means to an end.

We are not building a party for its own sake. We are building a party capable of leading strikes, occupations, demonstrations, and future revolutionary upheavals in the struggle for a society without profit, war or national oppression.

Every Gen Z revolt gives us a glimpse of a new society struggling to be born. We do not have a minute to waste.

In May 1968, when students battled the police on the streets of Paris and called on workers to join the struggle, France was brought to the brink of revolution. One slogan, graffitied across the city walls, captured the mood: “Be realistic, demand the impossible!”

This is a fitting slogan for communists today. We are told that our demands are unrealistic. But can any reasonable person truly believe that the alienation experienced by millions every day is the natural order of things? Can it really be true that humanity is incapable of organising society in a better way?

In a world consumed by crisis and pessimism, communists must be the unresting optimists.

We are demanding what we are taught is impossible. But communists understand that the material conditions for a new and higher human society already exist on a world scale.

That is the vision that will carry the RCP towards 2,000 members – and beyond.