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 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?

Bob Avakian has gone to work forging something you probably don’t think possible, or perhaps even desirable – a new communism, which builds on the best of what has come before yet goes much, much farther, into truly uncharted territory. In so doing, he has produced a breathtaking body of work and a blueprint for that new world. A society where the rule of law is not contingent upon the law of profit or the dictates of the powerful. Where people are not only allowed, but encouraged, to question those in power, with government funds provided for those who oppose the state’s policies. Those who have been locked out of deciding the direction of society, of engagement with science and ideas, will be empowered to take up these ventures as their own. Through the course of leading people to dissolve the millennia-spanning chasms between oppressors and the oppressed, those who govern will not merely tolerate but foster and welcome dissent. Unpopular ideas will not be suppressed but debated out and learned from. And the role of intellectuals, scientists, academics, artists, and writers will be central to this process in ways that differ markedly from past socialist societies.

Amid a fascist maelstrom that threatens to crush any truths that threaten its quest to “Make America Great Again,” and the truthtellers who convey them, we must fight back together with everything we have, uniting those from many different perspectives. Yet as important as that struggle is, it is not enough. We need a positive vision of a world really worth fighting for, one that obliges us to not only demand an end to the assault on the institution of higher education and the rule of law but also invites us to imagine something far better in its place. And right now, we need broad, honest, and serious discussion and debate about the road forward. Bob Avakian’s new communism is such a vision. It unflinchingly confronts and resolves some of the thorniest problems and gravest shortcomings of the first wave of 20th-century communist revolutions and socialist societies. It is a socialism that unleashes, rather than restrains, intellectuals; one that invites mass debate and the contestation of ideas; where the rule of law reigns. This vision, this body of work, this leader, demands your serious attention. But don’t take my word for it: engage it. Let it challenge you. Respond with your most challenging questions and critique. And do so as part of a collective movement of intellectuals and others working with The Bob Avakian Institute, which aims to open debate and discussion around the new communism as part of its mission to preserve, project, and promote Bob Avakian’s work.

In particular, I would direct you to the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America (Draft Proposal); the pamphlet Trump/MAGA Fascism: What We’re Really Facing, Why, and What Must Be Done to Defeat It Before It’s Too Late; and part two of Bob Avakian’s recent interview with Sunsara Taylor titled “The New Communism: A Whole New Way to Live,  a Fundamentally Different System.” And join me and others in an ongoing series of discussions on fascism, capitalism, and the new communism hosted by The Bob Avakian Institute. Register here.

In solidarity
John Hedlund, sociology instructor and volunteer with The Bob Avakian Institute