Several regions of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) have organised regional cadre schools in recent weeks.
The purpose of these education events is to strengthen leading comrades’ understanding of Marxism, with talks emphasising Marxism as a scientific and revolutionary philosophy for understanding all phenomena – from economics to culture.
These discussions are not gratuitous, academic, or indulgent. They are essential for building the party ahead of the turbulent events coming our way in 2025.
Central Committee
The January meeting of the Central Committee – the elected leadership of the RCP – functioned primarily as a cadre school.
On Saturday, there were two extensive theoretical discussions. The first, based on the new issue of the In Defence of Marxism magazine, focussed on the question of knowledge, science, and society.
This discussion, introduced by Daniel Morley of the RCP Executive Committee, was broad and far-reaching, exploring the social (rather than individual or anatomical) nature of knowledge and consciousness.
The session deepened comrades’ understanding of Marxism as a scientific philosophy, highlighted the importance of philosophy, and strengthened our collective confidence in our work and the socialist future of humanity.
The subsequent discussion was on the method of Marxist economics. In this talk, Adam Booth – Executive Committee member and editor of The Communist – emphasised that there is no rigid separation between the three pillars of Marxism: philosophy, historical materialism, and economics.
The latter is the application of historical materialism to uncover the laws governing economic processes, while historical materialism itself is simply dialectical materialism applied to human society.
This session aimed to move beyond specific economic formulas, focussing instead on the underlying method of analysis.
Any economy is the allocation of human labour to meet material needs, and Marxist economics seeks to investigate the social forces at play in a comprehensive manner.
This involves discovering dynamics, tendencies, and counter-tendencies, and ensuring our analysis is grounded in reality rather than abstract economic schemas.
This day of theoretical enrichment set the stage for Sunday’s discussions on world perspectives, which delves into the deepening divisions in global relations.
In his introduction, Jorge Martín – member of the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International (RCI) – explained that these geopolitical fissures stem from competition between national capitalist classes over a stagnating world market, compounded by internal class tensions in every country.
This instability is driving the bourgeoisie to make increasingly reckless decisions, which, given the interconnectedness of the global economy, has widespread ramifications.
The rise of right-wing populism is a significant international phenomenon. The historic weakness of the left has created a vacuum, underscoring the necessity of building a revolutionary alternative: the RCP and the RCI.
The message of this cadre school is that we – the communists – have the answers to the burning questions of our time. But that is not enough. We must redouble our efforts to organise the thousands of workers and young people who want a revolution, and to put Marxism on the map in Britain.
Yorkshire
On Saturday 25 January, the Yorkshire region held a cadre school in Sheffield, attended by 31 comrades from Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford, York, Hull, and Lincoln.
Leadership across the region has been revitalised recently, with many newer comrades stepping up to lead. The school was designed to equip these comrades with a deeper understanding and greater confidence in Marxist ideas.
Planning began in December, allowing comrades to prepare by studying recommended readings, engaging with additional materials, and discussing key topics.
Sheffield comrades also provided refreshments, facilitating continued discussion and helping to raise £150 for the fighting fund.
The school featured three two-hour sessions addressing what we are fighting for, why, and how.
Nelson Wan from the RCP Executive Committee introduced the first session on ‘Art and Revolution’. He explained that Marxism encompasses far more than economic issues, detailing its perspective on art and culture.
He concluded by emphasising the transformative potential of a communist society, and the importance of winning over today’s best artists to the party. One comrade remarked that they had never realised Marxism offered such profound insights into culture.
The second session was on ‘Capitalism and Crisis’. This tackled a key topic, as economics has historically been a weak point across the region.
The discussion covered fundamental Marxist economic principles, focusing on crises, the boom-and-bust cycle, the organic crises of the 1970s and 2008, and how capitalism’s attempts to resolve such crises have only created deeper contradictions.
Comrades engaged in discussions on various topics, including theories on the origins of value, why capitalism is not always in crisis, the tendency for the rate of profit to fall, and Keynesianism. This intense yet rewarding session renewed comrades’ enthusiasm for studying Marxist economics further.
The final session focused on the Venezuelan Revolution (also known as the Bolivarian Revolution), a topic unfamiliar to many comrades.
The discussion covered the revolution’s history and its broader implications, including the different paths revolutions can take, the role of leadership, and the challenge of connecting a revolutionary program with the masses.
Well-researched contributions explored various aspects of the revolution, including Hugo Chávez’s leadership, the bosses’ sabotage, and workers’ control.
Comrades also discussed our International’s Hands Off Venezuela campaign, emphasising the power of revolutionary masses in action and the importance of applying the Marxist method in revolutionary situations.
We ended the day inspired and eager to bring the lessons of the school back to our branches, making Yorkshire a stronghold of the RCP!
South
The Southern region held its cadre school on the weekend of 1 February. This proved to be a deeply inspiring event. Comrades attended from Canterbury, Brighton, Southampton, Royal Holloway, and Surrey.
We began with a session on Marxist philosophy, specifically the theory of knowledge. This discussion underscored the need for comrades to equip themselves with a correct, scientific philosophy to navigate the ideological confusion prevalent in society, particularly in universities.
Following this, we traveled to Stratford for an energetic papersale alongside the local branch. We sold 13 papers and made several promising contacts, including one individual eager to get involved.
Upon returning, we held a session on the transitional method – emphasising the importance of linking our ideas to concrete struggles, and raising demands that connect with the broader fight for socialism.
Sunday featured an engaging discussion on the theory of permanent revolution. We examined historical examples of its validity, particularly the Russian and Cuban revolutions.
The conversation also addressed its relevance today, given the continued dominance of imperialist powers over many countries, and how the working class should lead the struggle to expel them.
The weekend concluded with a discussion on democratic centralism and party building.
This cadre school left us energised and determined to build strong communist societies within the universities in our cities.
RCP goes from strength to strength in Leeds and Sheffield
After three months of solid growth, the Leeds and Sheffield districts met for their district aggregate meetings to kick off 2025 with a bang!
Sheffield
In Sheffield, around 30 comrades gathered to engage in a discussion on Bolshevism led by Regional Committee comrade Callie McIntyre, drawing out the key lessons from how Lenin built the Bolshevik party and overthrew capitalism – focusing on the need for revolutionary theory, firmness on principle, and flexibility in tactics.
This set up a discussion on the tasks for the district in the coming period. There’s a palpable mood of anger on the campuses, and the comrades aim to tap into this mood by focusing on building a solid base within the University of Sheffield, with regular lively paper sales and open meetings on the pillars of communism.
This will lay the groundwork for an SU election campaign in March, where the comrades will run a candidate on a bold, revolutionary communist programme.
Leeds
The Leeds district also kicked off the year in style with a lively discussion on world perspectives by comrade Nick Whittaker from the Central Committee of the RCP. The comrades demonstrated a good understanding of the world situation and the favourable conditions for building the RCP.
One new contact in attendance stated that she had never heard people articulate so well what she believed. She said it was exactly what she was looking for, and that she wanted to dedicate herself to the fight for revolution.
This was followed by a laser-focused discussion on the tasks ahead of the district.
In particular, comrades discussed the region’s youth work, alongside our strategy for strengthening revolutionary finance and The Communist paper.
Comrades came very well prepared, with inspiring reports from the Leeds Beckett refreshers fair intervention, which yielded 18 contacts. Similarly, the Leeds Arts branch made seven contacts on one paper sale!
Comrade Maya Khan stated that “47 percent of young people say they want a revolution, therefore the only thing stopping us from growing the party are the subjective barriers we erect ourselves”. This received a standing ovation from the comrades.
Many comrades said afterwards that this was the best and most inspiring RCP meeting that they’d ever been to in Leeds.
This was a fantastic way to kick off the new year and has enthused all the comrades to throw themselves into a bold SU election campaign starting in mid-February.
