The World School of Communism is now less than two weeks away. Today, we hit 5,000 signups from almost 130 different countries. Hundreds more are rushing in by the day. What is astonishing is that only 30 percent of those signups have come from members of the RCI. Of the rest, 3,000 have indicated that they would like to join our International!
[Sign up for the World School at schoolofcommunism.com] [Originally published on Marxist.com]
Currently topping the charts is Pakistan, which has so far registered 750 attendees, 600 of whom are not currently members of the RCI, but would be interested in joining us. Much of the Indian subcontinent has been in a state of open revolt in the past few years, for instance, with the recent Gen Z revolutions in Nepal and Bangladesh.
Many of the write-ins we received captured the attitude of the revolutionary youth being formed under these conditions – like the following, from Sukkur, Pakistan:
“I want to attend the World School because of the tyranny and oppression of this regime, injustice and unrest across the country, and the rulers’ extravagances amid widespread destitution.”
In India, there are so far just under 600 registered attendees for the World School, and 500 of them would like to join the RCI. This, in a country where we do not have an official section!
So overwhelming is the number of write-ins requesting to join that, for the first time, we had to organise an online mass meeting to discuss the School with anybody that has written in. As a result, comrades will gather in a booked-out cinema in Delhi to watch the School, and smaller watch parties will be organised across the country.
What shines through the messages we have received is that we are clearly connecting with the right people: the revolutionary youth, who are seeking out an organisation that can arm them with communist ideas and methods. These messages from India express this mood:
“I am a teenager. And I want to attend this school because I think the first step of becoming a revolutionary, or a communist is to be well educated.”
And:
“I’m just 14 rn and I started to read Karl Marx, Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Thomas Sankara etc., I’m from India, I read Bhagat Singh’s work and he was a communist too, I’m heavily influenced and inspired, and I see workers getting exploited every day!! I would be glad to be a member.❤️ Always red!!”
Comrades, you have come to the right place!
The Indian subcontinent is not the only place where the World School has made a splash. Hot on the heels of India is the United States. In the home of the Red Scare, nearly 550 people have registered for the event, almost 200 of whom are non-members and would like to join the RCI.
The following message from San Luis Obispo, California, tells the story of how one attendee reached revolutionary conclusions:
“I’ve evolved from a traditional, western life experience to what is now a full rejection of capitalism, western imperialism, nationalism and individualism. I walked away from over a decade-long career in the ghoulish investment industry of which I was never proud of. That person is dead and buried. The more I learn about Marxist theory, the more passion I feel to align with communism. I don’t know what I have to offer to the party yet, but I expect that becoming a member will lead to continued learning and action. Also, I have loved Shostakovich since I was like 9 years old – having grown up in Texas, there was clearly something wrong with me!”
Enjoy the World School – especially the session on Shostakovich! – comrade, and welcome to the RCI!
Just behind the US is Mexico, with over 300 signups, over half of whom want to join us. In their write-ins, like the following from Cancún, they express the same drive to master the rich lessons of Marxism in order to better fight for socialist revolution:
“I wish to enrol at the World School of Communism to strengthen my political education, deepen my study of Marxism and acquire the tools that will enable me to contribute more effectively to the organisation and struggle of the working class.”
Everywhere you look, it is the same story. When explaining why they signed up to the school, one answer cropped up across hundreds of write-ins: to learn.
It is precisely because we are putting revolutionary ideas front and centre that we are winning over the most revolutionary sections of the youth. For example, a communist from Nigeria wrote to us:
“I actually follow the RCI’s Spectre of Communism podcast on YouTube. Also some of the RCP’s YouTube videos. I’d really love to understand more about dialectical and historical materialism. As well as other fundamentals. I’d love some reading recommendations too.”
Multiple sessions at the World School will sate your appetite for dialectical and historical materialism, like the talks on science and cosmology, the Marxist view of history, and the Enlightenment. For further reading, we direct you to the reading lists, which can be accessed on the page for each specific talk, here.
There are thousands more messages like these, from every corner of the globe. There are thousands more potential members of the RCI out there who haven’t even heard of us, or the World School.
With a week and a half to go until the School throws open its doors, let us redouble our efforts to find these future communists and bring them along to the world’s foremost school of Marxist ideas – by advertising it far and wide, and politically preparing yourself.
And to everybody who is not yet a member of the RCI, there is no time like the present – join us today!
