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Review - 'The Communist Necessity' by J.Moufawad-Paul

These are my personal notes while reading the work The Communist Necessity by J. Moufawad-Paul (JWP from here on out), which you can get from foreignlanguages.press.

Summary

Introduction

The work opens with the failures of 20th century communism, of both the Anarchist and Marxist varieties, and how in more recent years, self-proclaimed revolutionaries have been searching for novel ways of organizing. References to the work of Deleuze and Guattari, and the Anti-Globalization movement are made. As well as of the popularity of certain relatively short-lived movements over others. JWP calls this tendency “Movementism”. He laments how the mistakes of this contemporary form of struggle, well-intentioned as they are, are not even meaningful in a world-historical sense.

He notes two gaps that need mending:

  1. That between the name and concept of communism, and

  2. the refusal to recognize contemporary communist revolutions.

Chapter 1: 21st Century Communism

The author opens the chapter by proclaiming that it is in vogue again within academic circles to call oneself a communist, although he is quick to point out that this new development embraces communism as possibility, rather than as necessity. Those who felt the necessity to abolish the current state of things have then moved to separate themselves from academia and carry themselves under a different name, usually “Socialist”.

After giving a brief tangent into the development of the terms “communism” and “socialism”, as in the Leninist model, the author declares the academic turn to the name “Communism” but without the necessary organizing work a retreat from necessity, while those engaged in the struggle but shed the name have retreated from history.

JWP expresses that the above is largely due to the privileged position those in the centers of imperialism finds themselves in. He reminds us that there are as yet-living examples of active, and bloody, class struggle. The list of names he gives us is indicative of his theoretical inclinations:

Against Utopianism

The author quotes Engels, and is then summarized by Luxemburg’s “Socialism or Barbarism”, to remind the reader that very early on, the proponents of the “scientific” form of socialism (to distinguish themselves from the “utopian” thinkers of the time) have observed that the current social and economic order will only lead to destruction. JWP asserts that those who do not think in terms of historical development and class conflict will not be able to come up with a justification as plain and simple as “Socialism or Extinction.”

He continues that even among those who recognize the necessity of change, one would come short of their goals if they do not appreciate the mistakes (and achievements) of revolutions that come before.

The Problem of Movementism

Science and Necessity

Puritanism

Sectarianism

… anti-revisionist movements that, in their principled refusal to peacefully coexist with capitalism, some of which were world-historical.