Combat Personal Narratives

Combat Personal Narratives

–by Dylano

(new-power.org)

“As we Chinese Communists, who base all our actions on the highest interests of the broadest masses of the Chinese people and who are fully convinced of the justice of our cause, never balk at any personal sacrifice and are ready at all times to give our lives for the cause, can we be reluctant to discard any idea, viewpoint, opinion or method which is not suited to the needs of the people? Can we be willing to allow political dust and germs to dirty our clean faces or eat into our healthy organism? Countless revolutionary martyrs have laid down their lives in the interests of the people, and our hearts are filled with pain as we the living think of them–can there be any personal interest, then, that we would not sacrifice or any error that we would not discard?” (1)

To indulge in personal narratives can not only soil the quality of work a comrade may wish to contribute to write be it in the form of an article or book. It can compromise security due to the answering of pig questions allowing hostile elements to accumulate sensitive information about individuals. But most dangerously it can lead to the rise in identity politics and ego. Both of these errors can and indeed has contributed to the decline of the International Communist Movement.

To put one’s ego or identity in command is to automatically take politics and revolutionary science out of command. For the two binaries are totally incompatible with each other. Ego places the importance of one’s own personality over the interests of the collective which goes against the principles of our politics and the principles of revolutionary science.

But as Karl Marx pointed out many years ago, we will transform ourselves as we struggle to transform the world together! (2)

By all means, we must develop ourselves, but at the same time remain humble. Let us keep our egos in check. Stop plastering your positive changes in the public light. People can see for themselves that you are great. That you are invigorated. That you are worthy. Leave it up to them to say “I want to be like that.” Before we go about bringing a Global People’s War we must engage in many “little cultural revolutions” among ourselves collectively. We must continue to consistently raise the bar.

Personal narratives will distract you from becoming better through their very nature, they presume your greatness regardless whether you are or not great. Prove yourself worthy. Let others point to your greatness. By their own very nature, the great have a lack of ego. For a lack of ego is an essential quality for the great to have if they are to advance. Therefore the great can find no motivation to indulge in personal narratives.

Personal narratives had led to the rise of identity politics. Applying importance to your individual circumstances that have shaped you as a person regarding where you were born, what race, ethnicity, religion, sex you are is also a hindrance to revolution. Using your own personal circumstances or the circumstances of people who have identity related aspects in common with you as an emotivist war cry for revolution will not work. To indulge in identity politics is not an appropriate substitute for a revolutionary proletariat that does not exist in the First World. If anything it will further debilitate the already decrepit first world ‘far-left’. This is because identity politics has a tendency to alienate the masses because it sets the criteria of whether someone is revolutionary or not based on whether or not they have a marginalised identity.

Identity politics is a toxic tendency within the International Communist Movement as it is a politics based on identity, emotion and of course personal narratives. People are exploited/oppressed or they are not, they are not exploited/oppressed because they feel exploited/oppressed. To say otherwise is unscientific. Hence such a politics disempowers the masses because it takes revolutionary science out of command thus sabotaging the revolutionary struggle. (3)

Personal narratives are also a severe security risk. To reveal information about your personal life can only benefit the authorities, and for what? So you can satisfy your own ego by placing importance of your identity and your story as a means of somehow emotionally fueling the revolutionary struggle. Put your ego, put your pettiness, put your life’s story aside. We have no time for that. We need to advance revolutionary science. We need to build New Power. We have a world to win.

Plus as personal narratives breed ego that opens a whole new can of worms that will erode organisational security. Ego will sucker comrades into answering personal questions for as previously mentioned ego places importance on an individual’s identity or story. Ego will prompt infighting as ego breeds drama queens who stir up trouble for their thirst for conflict and validation. Ego breeds weenies who will happily deviate from the political line simply because they believe they know best. (4) There will be no shortage of people who will attempt to enter the LLCO thinking they are God’s gift to the world and they have an innate gift, an innate destiny to dictate their will upon others and who will refuse to submit to the objective force of revolutionary science. Again, personal narratives can motivate people into believing that they are inherently superior or gifted that the world owes them recognition. Such bourgeois self entitlement will wreck us. Ego is our worst enemy for capitalism has entrenched an egotistical society that has the potential to consume us. To corrupt us. To force our capitulation.

We must never capitulate to ego. For it is not only a hindrance in our ability to undergo political work but it proves time and time again to lead to phenomenal security risks. We must avoid as much as we can to apply personal narratives in our works. An essential aspect in culturally revolutionising ourselves is to let go of our all pervasive sense of self. We must elevate our consciousness to the collective. For that is the making of a true communist. That is the making of a true revolutionary scientist. That is the making of a Leading Light.

NOTES
1. https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-3/mswv3_25.htm
2. https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1853/revelations/ch01.htm
3. “Revolutionary Science in Command not Identity Politics”, llco.org
3. “Basic Security”, Leading Light Vol. 2