RESPONSES TO BOB AVAKIAN’S WORK:

Open letter to academics on fighting fascism and the importance of Bob Avakian's work

Greetings

I am writing to you from the trenches of the besieged halls of academia – one of the few realms in this society where critical thought, free inquiry, the life of the mind, the contestation of ideas, the challenging of established ideas and authorities, and the dogged pursuit of the truth are valued, fostered and can at least partially flourish. All of this is under attack from the most powerful office in human history, at breakneck pace, with utter contempt for both the rule of law as well as the cherished norms of intellectual integrity and scientific commitment. A key plank of the Trump’s fascist agenda, like the fascist regimes before him, is to fundamentally remake higher education in its own image, as a site of blind allegiance to power, where research, inquiry, and teaching that challenge America-first chauvinism, Christian fundamentalist obscurantism, and the dictates of ruthless, planet-destroying capitalist plunder are attacked and suppressed.  

In these dark times, we are called upon to resist these attacks as part of preventing the full consolidation of MAGA fascism. This will require collective struggle, self-sacrifice, determination, and some serious courage. But we must also ask, and debate in a spirit of broad-mindedness and intellectual curiosity, some big questions. From where did this movement of xenophobic cruelty, dark ages morality, and unthinking allegiance come? Why are millions of people in this country among its ranks? And what is it going to take to reach the other millions, those sickened by what they are witnessing and hungry for real change, and not a “return to normal”? Is there not only a way out, but a way through – to a wildly daring yet eminently possible new world? (Continue reading)

In Defense of Bob Avakian and the Revcoms

[The articles below by Paul Street, historian and author, originally appeared in January 2024 at The Paul Street Report.]

Dear readers: This and my next two Paul Street Reports address the work of  Bob Avakian and the Revolutionary Communist  Party, USA (the “Revcoms”) and the sadly vicious, slanderous, ignorant and reactionary response of much of “the  left,” whatever “the left” is anymore, to Avakian and the Revcoms.

• In Defense of Bob Avakian and the Revcoms, Part 1 of 3
• Part 2: Against Neo-McCarthyism and More
• Part 3: Against More Left Slander and Stupidity.

Read more about what people are saying about Bob Avakian.