As the crisis of capitalism deepens, the forces of communism are moving forward by leaps and bounds. Over the last two years, the Revolutionary Communists of Ireland have grown sixfold in numerical strength, as well as having launched a regular newspaper, a website, expanded our presence in several cities and towns across Ireland, and officially launched our organisation. Now we are about to take the next decisive leap forward in the building of a Bolshevik organisation: hiring our first full-time revolutionary. Donate to our campaign today!
If you agree with our ideas, then get in touch about setting up a regular donation to contribute to our efforts. Or, better yet, fill out the sign-up form on our website and join the RCI in the fight for communism!
Revolution & Bolshevism
The world today is crying out for socialist revolution. From wars in over 30 countries to declining living standards for workers everywhere, the capitalist system is showing us in every way possible that it is incapable of bringing humanity any further. At the same time, the crisis of capitalism is pushing ever wider layers of workers and youth to draw revolutionary conclusions.
There is however one major factor that enabled the success of the Russian Revolution in 1917 which is absent today – a serious communist party built by professional revolutionaries steeled in Marxist theory. The Revolutionary Communists of Ireland are working to build precisely that party here in Ireland, just as our comrades in the Revolutionary Communist International are working tirelessly to build such parties in over 60 countries across the world.
At the start of 2023, we had but 7 comrades across Ireland. Today we are 40 members strong and counting! This has only been possible thanks to the strength of our ideas, which are quickly finding an echo among the Irish working class and youth.
In the past year we launched the website where you are reading this article, as well as a regular newspaper; we agitated at Palestine solidarity encampments, protests and trade union rallies; held dozens of public meetings and even organised demonstrations against the genocide in Gaza. Now it is time for us to take the next step and begin building a professional revolutionary apparatus that will allow us to work with an even greater intensity to give a revolutionary channel to the rising class anger across Ireland.
In the Marxist classic What is to be done, Lenin wrote, “A worker-agitator who is at all gifted and ‘promising’ must not be left to work eleven hours a day in a factory. We must arrange that he be maintained by the Party.” The question of full-time revolutionaries whose existence is maintained with party funds is one of absolute necessity for a Bolshevik organisation. It is simply not possible to maintain the level of professionalism and political centralisation necessary to wage a war against capitalism purely with comrades who can only give their days off to the cause, no matter how dedicated they may be.
Like an effective army, a Bolshevik party is organised on the basis of cadres. These are experienced class fighters who can use their knowledge to train up other comrades into revolutionaries capable of being leaders in the class struggle. It was these methods that allowed the Bolshevik Party in Russia to win over the masses when the country was in the throes of revolution following the overthrow of the Tsar in February 1917. If we want the coming Irish revolution to succeed we need to have trained Marxist agitators in every workplace, university, school and neighbourhood.
Revolutionary finances
We only officially launched our organisation in April 2024, so it is a staggering achievement that we are already close to being able to fund our first full-time revolutionary.
We are tremendously proud to be financed entirely by the sacrifices of the working class – that is, our members and sympathisers. In no way are we dependent on funding from the state or any wealthy donors – and that is precisely how we want it.
This gives us the advantage of maintaining class independence. Too often in the history of the workers’ movement, organisations reliant on state subsidies coming, for instance, from elected representatives have ended up watering down their own programme for the sake of “electability.”
Those are the desperate means resorted to by those who lack faith in workers’ ability to change society and in the ideas of Marxism. Bolsheviks need to skilfully connect the ideas of Marxism to the mood of workers in a way that will inspire them to sacrifice their time, energy and finances to the building of a communist organisation.
Cicero once remarked that finances are the sinews of war. It follows that for a revolutionary party, finances are the sinews of class war. We are of course fighting for a world without money, but we are waging that fight within the realities of capitalist society where everything from printing a newspaper to renting office space and maintaining full-time revolutionaries demands finances.
Donate today!
So we call on you, reader! What sacrifice are you willing to make in order to see the victory of socialism in your lifetime?
Though Irish workers are obviously struggling under the crisis of capitalism, we in Ireland are in an incomparably better position to support our movement financially than communists in countries such as Pakistan or Sri Lanka, where the RCI also has organisations in which comrades make very serious and inspiring sacrifices.
Part of our finances go towards the apparatus of our International, which is a crucial resource for our comrades in all countries. But even by building the forces of communism here in Ireland, we are furthering the cause of world revolution, since after all communism is inherently internationalist.
As an example of what sacrifices the Irish working class is capable of, at our founding congress in April, 33 attendees raised €4,143 in donations to the party. We now broaden our appeal not just to our own ranks but to broader layers of workers and youth who agree with our ideas or are sympathetic towards our struggle.
We are launching a campaign to raise the funds that will allow us to seriously build the forces of communism in Ireland. We are very excited to hire our first full-time revolutionary at the start of 2025, but we intend for this to only be the first step in the building of our revolutionary apparatus. We need to immediately start looking towards our second full-timer, as well as an office, and more!
If you are ready to throw yourself into the fight for revolution, then get in touch with us today about joining the Revolutionary Communists of Ireland! But even if you lack the time to become a member, contact us about setting up a once-off or, better yet, a monthly donation. Every sum, however great or small, helps us build our organisation into a serious fighting force that can lead a revolutionary struggle against the decrepit capitalist system that will only produce more misery and suffering across the world until it is finally overthrown.
Onwards to our first full-time revolutionary of many!
Forward to the socialist revolution!
