Full Marx

The Communist University completed its last session of the year on Tuesday, 27 November 2007. This was the fourth full twelve-month calendar-year programme of the CU to be completed, and the fifth programme in all. We started in June 2003.

Cde Sibusiso Mchunu, our esteemed and beloved chairperson, wants you all to know that you have all passed!

Those who are still hungry for political education have one more chance. The SACP Johannesburg Central Branch will meet on Sunday, 2 December 2007 and will devote part of the meeting to a discussion on the forthcoming 52nd ANC Conference, “from a Communist perspective”, and the Communist University’s alleged Vice Chancellor has been asked to open this discussion.

Further than that, do please avail yourselves of the Communist University 2008 Programme. The 2008 opening session, on 29 January, is (as usual) a reflection on political education itself, using, on this occasion, Liu Shaoqi’s “How to be a good Communist”.

From 5 February 2008 we will be discussing a set of texts on the relationship between the Party and the organised masses, and the relationship between these and the bourgeois State. The set goes under the heading “Can we do without a Communist Party?” All the documents for this series are archived and linked from the schedule. They are downloadable as MS-Word files. You can print them. It would be a great help if you could read them all, during the next two months or so, and before we meet again.

The Branch is rumoured to be having a Christmas event on 8 December. Details will presumably be available at Sunday’s branch meeting.

If you want to give a Christmas present to the Communist University, please just find us at least one fresh e-mail address to add to the list. Send that address to dominic.tweedie@gmail.com, or use the CU Plug-in City facility. If each of you does that much, we will be able to double in size, immediately.

Our drive to grow the Communist University mailing list has been moderately successful so far, with the grand total expected to top 1400 members some time this week. Onward to the psychologically-important 2000 barrier!

The YCLSA Discussion Forum is doing very well. It has grown to more than 600 members. It has been the location of a huge debate around Jacob Zuma and the meaning of populism. If you have not yet seen it, you can read this amazing discussion and/or join the group at: http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum or else join it via the CU Plug-in City.

Click on these links:

2008 Communist University Draft Programme (table)

Coming Events