This page is intended as an index of contributions to Pre-Convention Discussion, including the new Draft Program of the Communist Party USA. It also includes links to documents and procedures related to the CPUSA constitution, the new Draft Program, and Resolutions before the National Convention.

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE

Proposals for constitutional amendments must be submitted by 5 PM EST Monday, June 17 to the Convention’s Constitution Committee.  The address is constitution@cpusa.org.  Here is a link to the CPUSA Constitution, which was adopted in 2014 at the 30th Convention: https://www.cpusa.org/party_info/cpusa-constitution

DRAFT PROGRAM AND ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS

CPUSA Draft Program 2019 (download)

Club and District Discussion Guide (download)

Draft Program Introduction (summary/overview)

Please note that proposed changes to the Draft Program should be sent to the Program Committee at program@cpusa.org.  Comments for public discussion, such as those addressing political framework, strategy, and tactics, should be sent to discussion@cpusa.org.

 

RESOLUTIONS

Final Resolutions for the 31st National Convention (full text)

Final Resolutions for the 31st National Convention (download pdf)

CONTRIBUTIONS BY TOPIC

Each topic will be the subject of an online discussion.  Click on the link below the topic heading to register.

I. Class and Democratic Struggles

Online discussion: February 17, 6-7:30 PM. Suggested reading: Draft Program, sections I, II & IV

Seminar: Intro to Draft Program, Class and Democratic Struggles (Marc Brodine)

Marxism, four U.S. national questions, and the inequality of 30,000-to-1 (Wadi’h Halabi)

Reply: Leninism and the African American national question (Joe Sims and Jarvis Tyner)

The absence of recorded women’s thought (D. Mohney)

The urgency of NOW: African Americans and women (Dee Miles)

Let the party stand behind women’s liberation, not oppression (Lowell B. Denny III)

Reply: Sex work, like all work under capitalism, is shaped by exploitation and oppression (Scott Hiley)

Jobs, housing, and the Green New Deal (Emile Schepers)

What about worker co-ops? (Bill Johnston)

The Green New Deal and working class power (Donald Donato)

What stands in the way of working class power?

A stronger stance on reparations (Ian Goodrum)

II. Realities of the Working Class Today, and the Working Class Movement for Social Progress

Online discussion: March 23, 7-8:30 PM. Suggested reading: Draft Program, section III

We should put our strategic goals in dialectical relation to one another (Cameron Orr)

How do we achieve a more advanced alignment of forces? (Cameron Orr)

Report on the housing movement in New York State (Cameron Orr)

Support the Green New Deal and the Blue-Green Alliance (Minnesota/Dakotas District, CPUSA)

Proletarian Internationalism (Minnesota/Dakotas District, CPUSA)

Green Strategy (Minnesota/Dakotas District, CPUSA)

For a six-hour day with no cut in pay (Beatrice Lumpkin)

Draft Program title should emphasize Green Socialism (Valley/Public Workers Club, CT)

Giving a mass basis to our peace and solidarity work (Emile Schepers)

Podcast: Understanding Collectivity (Roberta Wood)

The right’s greatest assets (Keith Floyd)

Struggle in the Digital Age (Clyde Crockett)

Imperialism has grown more aggressive (John Arnold)

Building Class Consciousness in Central Indiana (Brad Lorton)

We need healthcare for everyone now! (Barbara Russum)

Two Tactics for Raising Class Consciousness (Charlie)

Contingent Workers and the Reserve Army of Labor (Norman Markowitz)

Ponzi Scheme Capitalism (James H. Slacum)

Developing Class Consciousness is a Real Challenge (Annie Allen)

Recommit to Communist International Unity (Wadi’h Halabi)

Reply: Do we need another Comintern? (Michael Arney)

Reply: Response to Comrade Arney on recommitting to Communist international unity (Wadi’h Halabi)

Reply: The road to socialism and the world Communist movement (Joe Sims)

Reply: Marx, the Paris Commune, and the dissolution of the Communist International (Wadi’h Halabi)

III. Unity Against the Extreme Right in the Electoral Arena and Beyond

Online discussion: April 14, 6-7:30 PM Eastern. Suggested Reading: Draft Program, sections IV, VI  & VII

Social democrats are not the enemy right now (C.J. Atkins)

Tasks of the socialist moment: should our emphasis be joining with the Democratic Party against the ‘extreme right’? (Chris Butters)

Abolish prisons and immigrant detention centers (Roberta Wood)

Decolonization of Puerto Rico is a fight against the corporate right (Carol Ramos)

Communist election strategy, here and now (Michael Arney)

Keep focused on the main fault line of the 2020 elections (Juan Lopez, via peoplesworld.org)

Celebrating our first 100 years and preparing for the next (Beth Edelman)

Austerity fuels the rise of the extreme right (Andrew Stewart)

Reply: We need to defeat Trump and the conditions that produced him (Norman Markowitz)

How can we win over workers who gravitate toward reactionary movements? (Annie Allen and Norman Markowitz)

Tactics for winning over workers (Mason C)

Time to rethink the two-state solution? (Ian Goodrum)

Video reply: The two-state solution and the fight against fascism (Scott Hiley)

Reply: The situation in Israel is not so clear-cut (Ian Goodrum)

‘Right wing’, let’s stop using that term (Roberta Wood)

Reconsider the Popular Front (Lowell B. Denny III)

Reply: We should be proud of our history and bold about our goals (Ian Goodrum)

Trump, monopoly capital, and the “extreme right” stage (Chris Butters)

To win workers away from the right, start from the left (Lowell B. Denny III)

When talking with conservatives, use evidence (and a little psychology)

IV. The Role of the Party, the Battle of Ideas, and Our Vision of Socialism

Online discussion: May 19, 6-7:30 PM. Suggested reading: Draft Program, sections VIII, IX & X

International Publishers™ contribution to political education (Barbara Russum)

Beating the #FakeNews: People’s World and CPUSA communications, part 1 (Chauncey K. Robinson and C.J. Atkins)

Beating the #FakeNews: People’s World and CPUSA communications, part 2 (Chauncey K. Robinson and C.J. Atkins)

Combatting anti-communism in the labor movement (Lowell B. Denny, III)

Building the club and party (Shelby Richardson, Jr.)

Anti-communism? Says who? (Peter Gale)

Membership engagement: summary and proposed next steps (Rossana Cambron)

Springtime for socialism (Ben Bath)

Building the party among left and progressive youth (Ben Bath)

The role of a CPUSA neighborhood club: action, vision, growth (Winchester-Newhall Club, New Haven, CT)

We need a Peace and Solidarity Commission (Henry Lowendorf)

Political independence requires political bravery (Andrew Stewart)

How do we advance worker independence? (Greg Roan)

30 years after the demise of socialism and its lessons for our times (John Bachtell)

Reply: “Democratic traditions” and socialist revolution (Lowell B. Denny, III)

The socialist moment (Joe Sims)

Video: What do we have in common with our coalition partners, and how are we different? (Lantz Nave)

The socialist moment and the tasks at hand (Beth Edelman)

How are we different? (Gene Lantz)

Reply: How are we different? We practice what we preach. (Norman Markowitz)

The biggest obstacle to socialism (Tyler Pentecost)

Love capitalism’s enemy (Norma J. Harrison)

Poem: Henry Winston’s Laugh (Rafael Pizarro)

A suggested program for socialism and real democracy (Norman Markowitz)

Consolidating new members and developing new activists and cadres (Emile Schepers)

We must adjust our language to today’s realities (Peter Wise)

To build class and socialist consciousness, add some fun! (Louis Wellington)

 

The Communist Party takes no responsibility for the opinions expressed during the Convention Discussion period. Those views do not necessarily reflect the views of the Communist Party, its leading bodies or staff members. The CPUSA Constitution, Program, and all its existing policies remain in effect during the Convention discussion period and during the Convention.

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