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'''Bob Avakian''' is Chairman of the ] (RCP), which he has led since its formation in 1975. He is a veteran of the ] and the Left of the 1960s and early 1970s,<ref>Unless otherwise indicated, biographical material is drawn primarily from Avakian's memoir, ''From Ike to Mao and Beyond – My Journey from Mainstream America to Revolutionary Communist'', Chicago: Insight Press (2005).</ref> and was closely associated with the ].<ref>, Agnes Varda's documentary film of the February 17, 1968 rally to free Black Panther Party leader Huey Newton held at the Oakland Auditorium; and {{YouTube|id=axhhXJqJJ-U&feature=PlayList&p=CBFF7D115033ADF1&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1|title=archival footage}}. Avakian was one of the guest speakers at the rally.</ref> He has continually published writings on ] and ] for over 35 years. He has described his body of theoretical work and everything he does as a communist leader as focused on "developing a scientific understanding of the world and providing leadership in radically transforming it toward the goal of revolution and the final aim of communism."<ref>Avakian, , ''Revolution'' No. 156, February 15, 2009.</ref> Avakian writes regularly for the newspaper of the RCP, ''Revolution'' (formerly titled ''Revolutionary Worker'').'''Bob Avakian''' is an American political activist and Chairman of the ] (RCP).
{{Self promotion|date=October 2021}}{{Like resume|date=October 2021}}
{{short description|American communist leader (born 1943)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Bob Avakian
| image = Bob_Avakian.jpg
| caption = Avakian in 1980
| office = Chairman of the ]
| term_start = 1975
| term_end =
| predecessor = ''Position established''
| successor =
| birth_name = Robert Bruce Avakian
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1943|3|7}}
| birth_place = Washington D.C., U.S.
| party = ] (1975–present)
| otherparty = ] (1960s)
}}

'''Robert Bruce Avakian''' (born March 7, 1943)<ref name="Mao and Beyond">{{Cite book |last=Avakian |first=Bob |title=From Ike to Mao and Beyond: My Journey from Mainstream America to Revolutionary Communist |publisher=Insight Press |year=2005 |isbn=9780976023623}}</ref><ref name="Official Biography">{{Cite web |title=Bob Avakian (BA) — Official Biography |url=https://thebobavakianinstitute.org/bob-avakian-ba-official-biography}}</ref> is an American political activist and ] philosopher who is the founder and chairman of the ] (RCP), a group often described as a cult surrounding Avakian.<ref name = “The Intercept”>{{Cite news| title = ABORTION RIGHTS ACTIVISTS CALL NEW GROUP LEADING PROTESTS A FRONT FOR A FAR-LEFT CULT | url = https://theintercept.com/2022/07/14/rise-up-4-abortion-rights-protests-revcom/}}</ref> Coming out of the ]<ref name="Boston Globe">{{Cite news |last=Oppenheimer |first=Mark |date=January 27, 2008 |title=Free Bob Avakian! |work=Boston Globe |url=http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/01/27/free_bob_avakian/?page=3}}</ref> of the 1960s, he is credited with the organization’s ideological framework, "the New Synthesis" or "New Communism".<ref>{{Cite web |title=A more in-depth introduction to BA's new synthesis of communism |url=http://revcom.us/avakian/ba-new-synthesis-expanded.html |access-date=December 27, 2017 |website=revcom.us}}</ref>


==Early life== ==Early life==
Avakian was born on March 7, 1943, in ], to Ruth and Spurgeon Avakian. His father was an ] lawyer, ], and later judge on the ] ].<ref name="Mao and Beyond" /><ref name="Peking Tom" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=DelVecchio |first=Rick |date=February 2, 2002 |title='Sparky' Avakian – racism-fighting judge |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Sparky-Avakian-racism-fighting-judge-2877881.php}}</ref> After spending his first three years in the ], he spent the rest of his childhood and adolescence in ].<ref name="Mao and Beyond" /><ref>''RNL Show,'' November 2022. "The Bob Avakian Interviews": , </ref>
Avakian was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in ].{{citation needed|date=September 2014}}


==Political activities==
==Early political career==
As a young man, Avakian became involved with the ] (SDS) at Berkeley, the ]<ref name="Peking Tom">{{Cite book |last=Baum |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yzykD4-mN7cC&dq=%22Bob+Avakian%22&pg=PA241 |title=China Watcher: Confessions of a Peking Tom |publisher=University of Washington Press |year=2010 |isbn=9780295800219 |edition=1st |page=241}}</ref> and the ].<ref name="Boston Globe" /> In 1968, he wrote articles for the ]'s publications<ref name="Star News">{{Cite news |last=Werkmen |first=Dirk |date=March 10, 1968 |title=Freedom: The Birth of a Party, 1968 |page=5 |work=Independent Star News}}</ref> and in July 1969, he spoke at the Black Panther conference in ].<ref name="Eve Indie">{{Cite news |last=Benson |first=George S. |date=March 28, 1972 |title=Looking Ahead |page=11 |work=The Evening Independent |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/4156244/?terms=%22Bob+Avakian%22}}</ref> By the time that the SDS split into three factions in the ], Avakian was a leading member of the ] faction, and was their candidate for National Secretary. Although defeated for the top position by ] of the faction soon known as the ], Avakian was elected to the National Interim Committee.<ref name="Sale">{{Cite book |last=Sale |first=Kirkpatrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=73AlAQAAIAAJ |title=SDS |date=1974 |publisher=] |isbn=0394719654 |location=New York |pages=412, 521, 566, 576, 592 |author-link=Kirkpatrick Sale}}</ref> During that period, Avakian was a leading member of the ]<ref name="Express">{{Cite news |last=Baker |first=Ross S. |date=November 22, 1970 |title=A History of The Weathermen |work=Express and News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/29755938/?terms=%22Bob+Avakian%22}}</ref> alongside Leibel Bergman.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Elbaum |first1=Max |authorlink1=Max Elbaum |title=Revolution in the air : sixties radicals turn to Lenin, Mao and Che |date=2002 |publisher=Verso |location=London |isbn=9781859846179 |url=https://archive.org/details/revolutioninairs0000elba}}</ref>{{rp|101}}
It was at Berkeley through his involvement with the Free Speech Movement that Avakian took his first steps into political activism. Avakian, in different ways, and over a period of time, became deeply engaged in the movements of the times: the anti-war movement, the student movement, the black liberation movement, the developing women’s movement and the incipient new communist movement in the U.S. Avakian's ideological and political development can be traced through these rebellious times, as he developed political relationships and friendships with many of the key figures of that era, engaging in many debates with the various trends in the movement, including working closely with the Black Panther Party, particularly ] and ].<ref>, Agnes Varda's documentary film of the February 17, 1968 rally to free Huey Newton; and {{YouTube|id=axhhXJqJJ-U&feature=PlayList&p=CBFF7D115033ADF1&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1|title=archival footage}}.</ref> Through his writing for the newspapers ''The Black Panther''<ref>See, for example, Avakian, "The Democratic Party: Oppressor of the People", ''The Black Panther'', November 2, 1968.</ref> and ] magazine,<ref>Avakian was listed as a contributing staff writer to ''Ramparts'' from September 1966 through March 1968.</ref> his work in ] and with the ], and his participation in the many struggles of the time, Avakian began to develop as a revolutionary and seriously consider what kind of revolution and revolutionary leadership was needed.<ref>''From Ike to Mao and Beyond'', Ch.&nbsp;5, 6 and&nbsp;7.</ref>


In the early 1970s, Avakian served a prison sentence for ] during a demonstration.<ref name="Peking Tom" /> He was charged with assaulting a police officer in January 1979 at a demonstration in Washington, D.C. to protest ]'s ] with ].<ref name="Boston Globe" /><ref>Avakian, "Bob Avakian Speaks on the Mao Tsetung Defendants' Railroad and the Historic Battles Ahead", Introduction and pp. 18—21.</ref><ref>Athan G. Theoharis, "FBI Surveillance: Past and Present", ''Cornell Law Review'', Vol. 69 (April 1984); and ] with Doug Cassel, “Bazooka Justice: The Case of the Mao Tse Tung Defendants – Overreaction Or Foreshadowing?”, ''Public Eye'', Vol. II, No. 3&4 (1980), pp. 40—43.</ref> After receiving an ], Avakian went to France and applied for political refugee status.<ref name="Mao and Beyond" /> In 1980, he gave a speech to 200 protestors in downtown Oakland<ref name="Logansport">{{Cite news |date=May 2, 1980 |title=Scores arrested, Injured In May Day Violence |work=Logansport Pharos-Tribune |agency=UPI |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/14613588/?terms=%22Bob+Avakian%22}}</ref> and his police assault charges were dropped a few years later.<ref name="Mao and Beyond" /><ref name="Boston Globe" />
In 1967 Avakian moved to Richmond, California, and started a collective "to integrate with the proletariat and take radical politics to the proletariat."<ref>''From Ike to Mao and Beyond'', p.&nbsp;152.</ref> It was in this period that Avakian and others began to more seriously study some of the "classics" of Marxism, as well as the writings of Mao Zedong, and to more seriously engage and explore a theoretical framework for their developing revolutionary inclinations.


In 2005, Avakian published an autobiography, ''From Ike to Mao and Beyond: My Journey from Mainstream America to Revolutionary Communist''.<ref name="Mao and Beyond" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=DelVecchio |first=Rick |date=April 29, 2005 |title=Berkeley: Memoir follows author's road to communism |work=San Francisco Chronicle |url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/04/29/EBGBICCPDC1.DTL}}</ref> He has been the Revolutionary Communist Party's ] chairman and national leader since 1979.<ref name=Logansport/><ref name="Tar Heel">{{Cite news |last=Unknown |date=December 6, 1979 |title=Communists get year sentence for disruption |page=2 |work=The Daily Tar Heel |location=Chapel Hill, North Carolina |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/67907715/?terms=%22Bob+Avakian%22}}</ref> In 2016, the RCP USA and others helped form the organization ], which called for the removal of ].<ref name="montgomery">{{Cite web |last=Montgomery |first=Blake |date=September 7, 2017 |title=Here's Everything You Need To Know About The Antifa Network That's Trying To Solidify A Nazi-Punching Movement |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/blakemontgomery/antifa-social-media |access-date=September 8, 2017 |website=]}}</ref>
In 1968 Avakian played a central role in uniting a number of revolutionary collectives into the Bay Area Revolutionary Union, with the view that this would be one organization among many (such as the Black Panther Party as well as other organizations and collectives) which at some point would build ideological and political unity as the basis for a new multi-national communist party.<ref>Avakian explains in his memoir why he and many others from the New Left were "overwhelmingly disgusted" with the existing Communist Party, USA, believing that it had given up working for a revolution, and why such forces believed that a new communist party was needed; see ''From Ike to Mao and Beyond'', pp. 149-150.</ref>


In August 2020, Avakian released a statement about what he called the "growing threat" of ], calling on supporters to use "every appropriate means of non-violent action" to remove Trump, including voting for ] for president, while continuing to organize for revolution.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statement by Bob Avakian on the immediate situation and the upcoming elections |url=https://us3.campaign-archive.com/?u=dbba24051877a5ba49ca529f2&id=068c0ff5d5&e=2dde1b6cba |access-date=August 3, 2020 |website=us3.campaign-archive.com}}</ref>
Into the 1970s these organizations continued to develop their positions on important questions related to revolution and communism, questions such as: If you are going to be for revolution, ''what kind'' of revolution? How can you make that revolution? What kind of leadership do you need? What kind of program do you need? What kind of forces do you need to mobilize and unite?<ref>''From Ike to Mao and Beyond'', Ch.&nbsp;9 and especially p.&nbsp;197.</ref>


==Legacy==
While fierce in his condemnation of all inequality and oppression and an ardent supporter of those who genuinely fight for their liberation,<ref>See, for example, archival footage of {{YouTube|feul1YGcwJU|Avakian speaking}} at a Black Panther Party rally in 1969.</ref> he sought to understand the dynamic underpinnings of society which give rise to inequality and oppression. This investigation along with the debates and ferment of the times led him to view Marxism as the theoretical framework that most scientifically synthesized an understanding of the world.<ref>''From Ike to Mao and Beyond'', Ch.&nbsp;9.</ref>
Avakian is a controversial figure. He is viewed by supporters as a revolutionary leader whose body of work has advanced communist theory and represents a "pathway to human emancipation" from the capitalist system.<ref>{{Cite web |last=DelVecchio |first=Rick |date=April 29, 2005 |title=Berkeley: Memoir follows author's road to communism |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Berkeley-Memoir-follows-author-s-road-to-2676772.php |access-date=April 17, 2019 |website=SFGate}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Praise and Reviews |url=http://www.insight-press.com/site/epage/47682_664.htm |access-date=April 17, 2019 |website=Insight-press.com}}</ref> He is criticized by detractors for an alleged ] around him,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Weir |title=Class in America: H-P |date=2007 |publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-0313337192 |editor-last=Weir |editor-first=Robert |page=492 |chapter=Maoism |author-link=Robert |access-date=March 6, 2018 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YS69fMlIUX0C&dq=%22Revolutionary+Communist+Party%22+++cult&pg=PA492}}</ref> which the party has called "lies and slander."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stop the Lies and Slanders: Bob Avakian and the RCP Are the Exact Opposite of a "Cult"! |url=https://revcom.us/a/357/stop-the-lies-and-slanders-bob-avakian-and-the-rcp-are-the-exact-opposite-of-a-cult-en.html |access-date=April 17, 2019 |website=Revcom.us}}</ref>


==Bibliography==
Through his writings in the ''Red Papers'', the theoretical journal of the Revolutionary Union,<ref>The Revolutionary Union published seven issues of ''Red Papers'' between 1969 and 1974.</ref> Avakian began to develop a method and approach with which to examine many of the key historical questions of the communist movement and theory, as well as the sharp and controversial issues of the day. These issues included whether the Soviet Union was still a socialist country or whether Mao Zedong’s theses of "capitalist restoration" in the Soviet Union was true;<ref>See, for example, the 1994 Chinese pamphlet, .</ref> whether China, under Mao, was a revolutionary socialist country; what was the character of the oppression of black people in the U.S. and the relation of this to revolutionary strategy,<ref>''Red Papers 5'' and&nbsp;''6''.</ref> and other contested issues.
'''Books'''
* (1979)
* (1979)
* (1981)
* (1983)
* (1984)
* (1985)
* '''' (1986)
* '''' (1992)
* (1999)
* '''' (2005)
* '''' (2005)
* '''' (2008)
* (2008)
* (2010)
* (2011)
* (2012)
* (2015)
* (2016)
* (2019)
* (2019)


'''Films'''
Through a very protracted process, which included theoretical debate around the critical issues of what kind of revolution is needed, issues of revolutionary strategy, and very closely linked to these issues, the question of what comprises revolutionary leadership, Avakian played a key role in the development of a new communist party in the U.S. In 1970 the Bay Area Revolutionary Union became a national organization (renamed the Revolutionary Union); this organization itself went through splits over positions in relation to the above questions.<ref>''Red Papers 4'' and&nbsp;''6''.</ref> This process involved debates and sharp ideological struggles among revolutionary and communist organizations (and individuals) throughout the country, and culminated, in 1975, in the formation of the RCP.<ref>''From Ike to Mao and Beyond'', Ch. 14, 15 and&nbsp;17.</ref> At its founding congress, Avakian was elected chairman of its central committee.
* (2003)
* (2012)
* (2015)
* (2017)
* (2018)
* Three Interviews with Bob Avakian: ''Up Close and Personal with Bob Avakian - Heart and Soul & Hard-Core for Revolution'' (2023) (, and )


==In popular culture==
=="Restoration of Capitalism" in China, arrest and self-exile==
] portrays Avakian in the 1995 ] film '']''.
In 1976, shortly after the death of Mao Zedong, the followers of Mao (known as the "]") were arrested and new leadership took over the Communist Party of China. Among communists both within the U.S. and internationally there were major differences on how to understand what had happened in China. Within the RCP, after a process of internal study and debate, the issue came to a head in a meeting of the RCP's central committee, where a majority of the leadership, led by Avakian, in reaction to the events, took up the position that what had occurred in China was a coup that overthrew socialism and was in the process of unleashing capitalism in China. This led to a major split in the RCP with a significant minority who supported the new leaders in China leaving the Party.<ref>See the "Introduction" to ''Revolution and Counter-Revolution: The Revisionist Coup in China and the Struggle in the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA''. This book contains the major documents of both sides of the dispute.</ref>

In January 1979 a demonstration was held in Washington DC on the occasion of Chinese leader ] meeting with ] to expose what the RCP and Avakian viewed as Deng's "reversal" of the revolution in China. There was a confrontation and the RCP claimed that the police attacked the demonstration, resulting in many in the demonstration injured and many arrested, including Avakian.<ref>Avakian, "Bob Avakian Speaks on the Mao Tsetung Defendants' Railroad and the Historic Battles Ahead", Introduction and pp. 18--21.</ref> The federal government brought serious multiple felony charges against seventeen people, including Avakian.<ref>For detailed accounts of this case and its significance from a legal and political repression perspective, including the implications of the severity of the charges that had been leveled against the demonstrators, see Athan G. Theoharis, "FBI Surveillance: Past and Present", ''Cornell Law Review'', Vol. 69 (April 1984); and ] with Doug Cassel, “Bazooka Justice: The Case of the Mao Tse Tung Defendants – Overreaction Or Foreshadowing?”, ''Public Eye'', Vol. II, No. 3&4 (1980), pp. 40--43.</ref> The charges against Avakian were dropped in 1982.<ref>''From Ike to Mao and Beyond'', pp. 364--365, 435--436.</ref>

While fighting these charges, Avakian went on a national speaking tour in 1979 and while in Los Angeles, gave an interview to an ''L.A. Times'' reporter. In her article, the reporter attributed statements to Avakian that were distortions, which the Secret Service then used as a pretext for an investigation. After being threatened with a lawsuit, the ''L.A. Times'' printed a partial retraction. The Secret Service investigation was challenged in court, and nothing ever came of this investigation.<ref>''From Ike to Mao and Beyond'', pp. 402--403.</ref>

In 1980 the RCP faced many arrests and other suppression.<ref>For an in-depth picture of repression aimed at the RCP in just one city, Los Angeles in the 1980 period, see the documentation in a series of articles by David Johnston in the ''Los Angeles Times'': "Use of Special Prosecutor in Spy Case Urged" (''Los Angeles Times'', December 12, 1982) and "New Probe Ordered on Spying by LAPD" (''Los Angeles Times'', December 15, 1982).</ref> At the same time Damián García, who was closely associated with the RCP and who had raised a red flag on top of the Alamo a few weeks earlier as part of building for RCP-sponsored demonstrations on ] 1980, was murdered in Los Angeles.<ref>Henry Mendoza and Tom Paegel, "One Killed, One Hurt at Communist Rally", ''Los Angeles Times'', April 23, 1980.</ref> According to Avakian's memoirs, within this same period there were growing reports of death threats against him from various quarters.<ref>''From Ike to Mao and Beyond'', Ch.&nbsp;24.</ref>

Citing the history in the U.S. of political assassinations of revolutionaries (including ] and Black Panther Party leader ]), and the increasing attacks and threats against Avakian, in 1981 Avakian left the country and went into self-exile in France.<ref>''From Ike to Mao and Beyond'', Ch.&nbsp;25.</ref> He has continued to be the Chairman of the RCP.<ref>See "1995 Leadership Resolutions on Leaders and Leadership", and .</ref>

Many of Avakian's writings and edited transcripts of a number of talks have been published in the RCP’s newspaper, , and its predecessor, ''Revolutionary Worker''. There are also a number of audio recordings of these talks that have been released. In 2003 Avakian appeared at two speaking engagements (on the East and West Coasts of the United States), delivering a talk “Revolution: Why It’s Necessary, Why It’s Possible, What It’s All About” which is in DVD distribution.<ref>More information about ''Revolution: Why It's Necessary, Why It's Possible, What It's All About'' can be found at .</ref>

==Avakian's "New Theoretical Synthesis"==
Avakian contests the conventional wisdom that the experience of the communist revolutions of the 20th century has proven the failure of communism. Instead, he draws an analogy to Europe in the period between the 15th and 19th centuries during which there were revolutions and counter-revolutions, but nonetheless resulted in the eventual triumph of capitalism and bourgeois democracy and the supersession of the feudal order. He maintains that while the defeats of the revolutions in the Soviet Union and then the People’s Republic of China were painful setbacks, the goals of revolution and communism remain necessary and viable.<ref>Avakian, ''Phony Communism is Dead … Long Live Real Communism!'', Ch.&nbsp;1</ref> He further maintains that for communists and communism to move forward from these defeats it is necessary to "scientifically and critically evaluate this first stage of communist revolution", and on this basis further develop the theoretical framework upon which to continue the struggle for revolution and communism.

While providing overall leadership to the RCP, he has, over the last 30 years, applied himself to this theoretical task. Among the works that have been major stepping stones of his evaluation are: (1981), "The End of a Stage, the Beginning of a New Stage”' (1989), and more recently "Making Revolution and Emancipating Humanity", and (2007). The result of this work has been the emergence of what he has termed a "new synthesis", a further development of the theoretical framework for carrying forward a new stage in this revolution.<ref>, Sec.&nbsp;IV (pp.&nbsp;22-29 in published version).</ref>

Avakian's study has involved the exploration and intellectual interrogation of communist theory and practice in socialist states as well as in the communist movement more broadly; and at the same time Avakian has studied the criticisms, of various kinds and from various standpoints (including from non-communists and those hostile to communism), of that experience. While maintaining that he has proceeded from the basic framework of communist scientific theory building off of the theoretical foundation chiefly developed by Marx, Lenin and Mao in its first stage, Avakian argues that this represents a major theoretical rupture within that framework.<ref>See, for example, Avakian, "Making Revolution and Emancipating Humanity", , ''Revolution'', No. 112, December 16, 2007.</ref>

Summing up the experience of the first stage of communist revolution, Avakian argues that "the principal aspect, looking at this with historical perspective, is ''firmly uphold'' . These were positive, very positive, unprecedented breakthroughs that were achieved in the historical experience of socialism; and, at the same time, there were real and in some cases very serious shortcomings that we don't want to repeat, and should not have to repeat, even with all the necessity we're going to be up against. We ought to be able, at least in crucial spheres, to make leaps and ruptures beyond this."<ref>Avakian, , "&nbsp;'Firmly Uphold, But Wouldn't Want to Live There' – Correctly Understood".</ref>

This new synthesis, in Avakian's words, "involves a recasting and recombining of the positive aspects of the experience so far of the communist movement and of socialist society, while learning from the negative aspects of this experience, in the philosophical and ideological as well as the political dimensions …"<ref name="The New Synthesis">Avakian, "Making Revolution and Emancipating Humanity", , ''Revolution'', No. 112, December 16, 2007.</ref>

This is a very controversial position in the international communist movement, as there are those who argue that the previous socialist experiences have principally been flawed and there is a need for a whole new theory; and conversely, there are those who argue it is "heresy" to critically evaluate and recast and re-envision the road to socialism and communism.<ref>, Sec.&nbsp;V (pp.&nbsp;30-33 in published version).</ref>

===Philosophy and method===
Avakian argues that what is necessary is a scientific approach to evaluating the experiences of the communist movement and socialist society, both in its practice and in the underlying conceptions, in their philosophical and ideological as well as political dimensions. This premise also challenges traditional thinking within the communist movement, which has tended to see the process of revolution as some kind of linear and almost "fated" development, which imbues the advance of revolution and communism with some kind of "historical inevitability". Avakian traces some secondary shortcomings in this direction all the way back to Marxism at its foundation.<ref>See, for example, the criticism of Frederick Engels' concept of "negation of the negation" in , Sec.&nbsp;IV, subsection on philosophy and method (pp.&nbsp;24-25 of published version).</ref> Avakian's basic thesis contends that while Marx has scientifically explained how the basic contradictions of capitalist society will give rise, again and again, to the most horrid conditions, and that while these contradictions and horrors can only be resolved through revolution and communism, this resolution is not inevitable. Avakian agrees that the possibility exists of eliminating exploitive production relations and class relations in society and their expression in social relations and ideas.<ref>Marx summarized in that communism can only be reached once the "4&nbsp;Alls" have been achieved: the abolition of all class distinctions, of all the production relations on which those class distinctions rest, of all the social relations that correspond to those production relations, and the revolutionizing of all the ideas that correspond to those social relations.</ref> However, he argues that this can only be understood and transformed in the interests of all humanity if consciously approached and understood on a scientific basis – and this is something that can be done, and needs to be done, by all who come to see the need for revolution and communism.<ref>Avakian, "Ruminations and Wranglings", , ''Revolution'', No. 174, August 30, 2009.</ref>

Epistemologically, Avakian has critically examined tendencies in the communist movement to view truth as "class truth". This is the view that truth is dependent on which class outlook one brings to the pursuit of the truth, and includes the notion that there is such a thing as "proletarian truth”.<ref>See, for example, Point 4 of the , May 16, 1966, ''Important Documents on the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China'', Peking: Foreign Languages Press (1970), which criticizes the statement "everyone is equal before the truth" as a "bourgeois slogan" and speaks of "the class nature of truth".</ref> In contrast to this, Avakian has argued that truth is a scientifically-based objective expression or explanation of reality. He has polemicized against the philosophical view of "class truth" (as well as ], ] and ]) and has called on communists "to rupture more fully with instrumentalism – with notions of making reality an 'instrument' of our objectives, of distorting reality to try to make it serve our ends, of 'political truth'."<ref name="Avakian, p. 54">Avakian, ''Observations on Art and Culture, Science and Philosophy'', (p.&nbsp;54 in published version).</ref> He has emphasized that an important part of the process to communism and an important element of communist morality is the recognition that truth matters. And as he argues, under socialism, this process of getting to truth will involve unleashing all of socialist society, in its various realms, including fostering ferment and dissent in all of this.<ref name="Avakian, p. 54"/>

In connection to all this Avakian has attached great importance to imagination, maintaining that "there is a unity between a systematic and comprehensive scientific method and outlook for comprehending and transforming reality, and giving flight to the imagination and giving expression to the 'need to be amazed'."<ref>Avakian, ''Observations on Art and Culture, Science and Philosophy'', , p.&nbsp;42.</ref>

While continuing to adhere to philosophical materialism – a foundation point of Marxism – Avakian has simultaneously argued against a tendency toward ''mechanical'' materialism. He has devoted sections of many of his works to further explorations of what he describes as ''dialectical'' materialism<ref>See, for example, , ''Revolution'', No. 161, April 12, 2009.</ref> which is also integral to Marxism.<ref>For example, Engels argued, "Matter without motion is just as inconceivable as motion without matter." Engels, , Part 1, "Philosophy", p.&nbsp;74</ref>

===Proletarian Internationalism===
Avakian has addressed extensively the question of ], arguing that that the proletarian world revolution must be viewed as a single integrated world process in which the international arena is overall principle; that socialism must in the first place be built as a base area for the world revolution; and that in their approach to revolution, communists must proceed from an understanding of what will advance revolution on a world scale.

Avakian contends that as long as capitalist-imperialist relations of exploitation and production and an oppressive capitalist state still have a foothold in the world, there is the basis for these relations to recreate themselves and spread elsewhere. And that in fact, it is quite likely that socialism in particular countries is bound to be reversed unless further advances are made in the world proletarian revolution. Further, Avakian argues that in an ultimate and overall sense, the development of a ] in a particular country is more determined by developments in the world as a whole than by developments in that country – and emphasizes that this understanding must be incorporated into the approach to revolution, in particular countries as well as on a world scale.<ref>Avakian, , originally published in ''Revolutionary Worker'', No. 96, March 13, 1981.</ref>

Avakian writes:

<blockquote>he achievement of must take place on a world scale, through a long and tortuous process of revolutionary transformation in which there will be uneven development, the seizure of power in different countries at different times, and a complex dialectical interplay between the revolutionary struggles and the revolutionization of society in these different countries … in which the world arena is fundamentally and ultimately decisive while the mutually interacting and mutually supporting struggles of the proletarians in different countries constitute the key link in fundamentally changing the world as a whole.<ref>Avakian, , ''Revolution'', No. 157, February 22, 2009.</ref></blockquote>

===On the Dictatorship of the Proletariat and Socialism as a Transition to Communism===
Avakian has argued that while it is true that the proletariat as a class will be the backbone social base which is most strongly compelled to make communist revolution,<ref>Avakian, "Ruminations and Wranglings", Part 6, , ''Revolution'', No. 169, June 28, 2009.</ref> at the same time, it must be recognized that the process of revolution is a very complicated and difficult process: that increasingly ever larger sections and various strata of society must be drawn into and enthusiastically take up this struggle, or very soon the revolution will fail, that is its communist objectives will be undermined and some form of capitalism will be restored. Related to this, he has argued that while a very crucial task of socialism will be to figure out how to transform the economy in order to employ, feed and house people and in general take care of society’s and people’s material requirements, and while doing all this continue to overcome the scars of the capitalist past, that a new dimension needs to be brought forward (even as compared to the Soviet Union and China during the period when he considered them genuine revolutionary societies) of what socialism will look like:

<blockquote>… opening up qualitatively more space to give expression to the intellectual and cultural needs of the people, broadly understood, and enabling a more diverse and rich process of exploration and experimentation in the realms of science, art and culture, and intellectual life overall, with increasing scope for the contention of different ideas and schools of thought and for individual initiative and creativity and protection of individual rights, including space for individuals to interact in "civil society" independently of the state – all within an overall cooperative and collective framework and at the same time as state power is maintained and further developed as a revolutionary state power serving the interests of the proletarian revolution, in the particular country and worldwide, with this state being the leading and central element in the economy and in the overall direction of society, while the state itself is being continually transformed into something radically different from all previous states, as a crucial part of the advance toward the eventual abolition of the state with the achievement of communism on a world scale.<ref name="The New Synthesis"/></blockquote>

This approach has been encapsulated in the formulation, "solid core with a lot of elasticity".<ref>A concise explanation of this formulation "solid core with a lot of elasticity" is given in the RCP's ''Constitution'':
<blockquote>"Applied to socialist society, this approach of solid core with a lot of elasticity includes the need for a leading, and expanding, core that is clear on the need for the dictatorship of the proletariat and the aim of continuing socialist revolution as part of the world struggle for communism, and is determined to continue carrying forward this struggle, through all the twists and turns. At the same time, there will necessarily be many different people and trends in socialist society pulling in many different directions – and all of this can ultimately contribute to the process of getting at the truth and getting to communism. This will be intense at times, and the difficulty of embracing all this – while still leading the whole process broadly in the direction of communism – will be something like going, as Avakian has put it, to the brink of being drawn and quartered – and repeatedly. All this is difficult, but necessary and a process to welcome." , "Appendix: Communism as a Science" (pp. 39-40 in published version)</ref></blockquote>

Another hallmark of Avakian is his stress on the role of the masses as "emancipators of humanity", where the masses are the conscious driving force of revolution; a revolution that is not about revenge nor about changes of position within the horizons of the existing class framework, but a revolution which is about the emancipation of all humanity.<ref>Avakian, audio of the talk, "Communism: A Whole New World and the Emancipation of All Humanity – Not 'The Last Shall Be First, And the First Shall Be Last'&nbsp;, available online at .</ref>

===Strategic Approach to Revolution===
Avakian views the emergence of a "revolutionary situation" – briefly, following Lenin, a situation of major crisis in society and government in which millions of formerly inactive people have taken up political causes and, in specific, have become convinced of the need for revolution – as essential to an actual struggle for power in an advanced country. Avakian has also taken up the position for an orientation of "hastening, while awaiting" the emergence of such a situation – actively attempting to influence public opinion and organize followers to both hasten the emergence of such a situation, shape its character, and prepare to take advantage of it.<ref>Avakian, , subsection "Hastening while awaiting – not bowing down to necessity".</ref> In the words of the RCP's ''Constitution'', this involves the party hypothetically leading a "whole ensemble of revolutionary preparations", with the party's press and the spreading of Avakian's theory. On that foundation, the mobilization of mass resistance, the raising of consciousness, and the recruitment of new members also goes on.<ref name="constitution, p. 12">, Sec.&nbsp;I, (p.&nbsp;12 in published version).</ref>

Avakian has also put forward a strategy of "United Front under the Leadership of the Proletariat." This involves a particular focus on the proletariat, while attempting to influence and mobilize people of many other strata. A critical part of this is the struggle of what the RCP calls "oppressed nationalities" – specifically, African-Americans, Chicanos (or Mexican Americans), Native Americans, Puerto Ricans and others more conventionally grouped under the rubric of "people of color." Speaking specifically of African-Americans, Avakian has written that:

<blockquote>There will never be a revolutionary movement in this country that doesn’t fully unleash and give expression to the sometimes openly expressed, sometimes expressed in partial ways, sometimes expressed in wrong ways, but deeply, deeply felt desire to be rid of these long centuries of oppression . There’s never gonna be a revolution in this country, and there never '''should''' be, that doesn’t make that '''one key''' foundation of what it's all about.<ref>Avakian, , ''Revolution'', No.&nbsp;78, February 2, 2007.</ref></blockquote>

==On Democracy==
Avakian has been a critic of democracy, arguing that democracy cannot be viewed as a universal notion of equality, understood as above or separate from class societies.<ref>Avakian, ''Democracy, Can't We Do Better Than That?''</ref> Avakian takes up the position that in any democracy that exists with different classes, one class will always be able to exploit another class. In his book, ''Democracy: Can’t We Do Better Than That?'', Avakian has developed polemics against Hannah Arendt and the "theory of totalitarianism" as well as other prominent theoreticians of democracy, including Locke and Rousseau. Specifically speaking to the history of the United States, Avakian has recently published ''Communism and Jeffersonian Democracy'', which attempts to deconstruct the philosophical basis, and consequences, of ].

==Reception==
Avakian and his philosophy have been criticized by Mike Ely<ref name=Kasama2>{{cite web|last1=Ely|first1=Mike|title=Letter 4: Truth, Practice and a Confession of Poverty|url=http://kasamaproject.org/kasama/40-import-data/4349-letter-4-truth-practice-and-a-confession-of-poverty|website=http://kasamaproject.org/kasama/40-import-data/4349-letter-4-truth-practice-and-a-confession-of-poverty|publisher=Kasama Project}}</ref> of the "communist project" Kasama<ref name=Kasama>{{cite web|title=What Is Kasama|url=http://kasamaproject.org/so-what-is-kasama|website=Kasama Project|publisher=Kasama Project|accessdate=Sep 5, 2014}}</ref> and Mark Oppenheimer of the '']''.<ref name="Boston Globe"/>

==Selected Works==

===Books===

*''BAsics from the Talks and Writings of Bob Avakian'' (2011), ISBN 0-89851-010-4
*''Away With All Gods! Unchaining the Mind and Radically Changing the World'' (2008), ISBN 0-9760236-8-7
*''Communism and Jeffersonian Democracy'' (2008), ISBN 0-89851-004-X
*''From Ike to Mao and Beyond: My Journey from Mainstream America to Revolutionary Communist'' (2005), ISBN 978-0-9760236-2-3
*''Observations on Art and Culture, Science and Philosophy'' (2005), ISBN 978-0-9760236-3-0
*''Marxism and the Call of the Future: Conversations on Ethics, History, and Politics'', co-authored with Bill Martin (2005), ISBN 978-0-8126-9579-3
*''Preaching From a Pulpit of Bones: We Need Morality But Not Traditional Morality'' (1999), ISBN 0-9760236-4-4
*''Phony Communism is Dead … Long Live Real Communism! – A Response to the Claims of the "Death of Communism"'' (1992, 2004), ISBN 0-89851-122-4
*''Democracy: Can't We Do Better Than That?'' (1986), ISBN 0-916650-29-4
*''A Horrible End: Or, The End to the Horror?'' (1984), ISBN 0-89851-070-8
*''For a Harvest of Dragons: On the "Crisis of Marxism" and the Power of Marxism Now More Than Ever – An Essay Marking the 100th Anniversary of Marx's Death'' (1983), ISBN 0-89851-065-1
*''Conquer the World? The International Proletariat Must and Will'' (1981)
*''The Immortal Contributions of Mao Tsetung'' (1979), ISBN 0-89851-046-5
*''The Loss in China and the Revolutionary Legacy of Mao Tsetung'' (1978), ISBN 0-89851-017-1

===Printed Talks===
*"Birds Cannot Give Birth to Crocodiles, But Humanity Can Soar Beyond the Horizon" – and (2010)
* (May 2010)
* (March 2010)
* (Fall 2009)
* (2009)
*"Making Revolution and Emancipating Humanity" (2007), and
* (2006)
* (2005)
*"The Oppression of Black People and the Revolutionary Struggle to End All Oppression" (2007), , , , and
* (2005)
* (2005)
* (2005)
* (2004)
* (2002)

===Audio===
*"All Played Out" (available at )
*<u>Seven Talks</u> (available at )
*"Bob Avakian Speaks Out: On War and Revolution, On Being a Revolutionary and Changing the World", interviewed by Carl Dix, Vol. 1 and 2, on CD (available on )

===Video===
*"Revolution: Why It's Necessary, Why It's Possible, What It's All About", at


==Notes== ==Notes==
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==External links== ==External links==
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*{{Official website}} for The Bob Avakian Institute
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*Official Social Media - @BobAvakianOfficial:{{Instagram | id= BobAvakianOfficial | name= BobAvakianOfficial }}; {{Twitter | id= BobAvakian | name= BobAvakianOfficial }}; {{Facebook page | id= people/Bob-Avakian-Official/61555271978071 | name= BobAvakianOfficial }}; {{Telegram | id= BobAvakianOfficial | name= BobAvakianOfficial }}; {{TikTok | id= @bobavakianofficial | name= BobAvakianOfficial }}
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*{{IMDb name|13281982}}
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{{Maoism}}
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{{Authority control}}


{{Authority control|VIAF=47915853}}

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| DATE OF BIRTH = March 7, 1943
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
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Latest revision as of 18:23, 17 December 2024

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American communist leader (born 1943)
Bob Avakian
Avakian in 1980
Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA
Incumbent
Assumed office
1975
Preceded byPosition established
Personal details
BornRobert Bruce Avakian
(1943-03-07) March 7, 1943 (age 81)
Washington D.C., U.S.
Political partyRevolutionary Communist Party, USA (1975–present)
Other political
affiliations		Peace and Freedom Party (1960s)

Robert Bruce Avakian (born March 7, 1943) is an American political activist and Maoist philosopher who is the founder and chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA (RCP), a group often described as a cult surrounding Avakian. Coming out of the New Left of the 1960s, he is credited with the organization’s ideological framework, "the New Synthesis" or "New Communism".

Early life

Avakian was born on March 7, 1943, in Washington, D.C., to Ruth and Spurgeon Avakian. His father was an Armenian American lawyer, civil rights activist, and later judge on the Alameda County, California superior court. After spending his first three years in the Washington metropolitan area, he spent the rest of his childhood and adolescence in Berkeley, California.

Political activities

As a young man, Avakian became involved with the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at Berkeley, the Free Speech Movement and the Black Panther Party. In 1968, he wrote articles for the Peace and Freedom Party's publications and in July 1969, he spoke at the Black Panther conference in Oakland, California. By the time that the SDS split into three factions in the summer of 1969, Avakian was a leading member of the Revolutionary Youth Movement II faction, and was their candidate for National Secretary. Although defeated for the top position by Mark Rudd of the faction soon known as the Weather Underground, Avakian was elected to the National Interim Committee. During that period, Avakian was a leading member of the Bay Area Revolutionary Union alongside Leibel Bergman.

In the early 1970s, Avakian served a prison sentence for desecrating the American flag during a demonstration. He was charged with assaulting a police officer in January 1979 at a demonstration in Washington, D.C. to protest Deng Xiaoping's meeting with Jimmy Carter. After receiving an arrest warrant, Avakian went to France and applied for political refugee status. In 1980, he gave a speech to 200 protestors in downtown Oakland and his police assault charges were dropped a few years later.

In 2005, Avakian published an autobiography, From Ike to Mao and Beyond: My Journey from Mainstream America to Revolutionary Communist. He has been the Revolutionary Communist Party's central committee chairman and national leader since 1979. In 2016, the RCP USA and others helped form the organization Refuse Fascism, which called for the removal of Donald Trump.

In August 2020, Avakian released a statement about what he called the "growing threat" of fascism in the United States, calling on supporters to use "every appropriate means of non-violent action" to remove Trump, including voting for Joe Biden for president, while continuing to organize for revolution.

Legacy

Avakian is a controversial figure. He is viewed by supporters as a revolutionary leader whose body of work has advanced communist theory and represents a "pathway to human emancipation" from the capitalist system. He is criticized by detractors for an alleged cult of personality around him, which the party has called "lies and slander."

Bibliography

Books

Films

In popular culture

James LeGros portrays Avakian in the 1995 Mario Van Peebles film Panther.

Notes

  1. ^ Avakian, Bob (2005). From Ike to Mao and Beyond: My Journey from Mainstream America to Revolutionary Communist. Insight Press. ISBN 9780976023623.
  2. "Bob Avakian (BA) — Official Biography".
  3. "ABORTION RIGHTS ACTIVISTS CALL NEW GROUP LEADING PROTESTS A FRONT FOR A FAR-LEFT CULT".
  4. ^ Oppenheimer, Mark (January 27, 2008). "Free Bob Avakian!". Boston Globe.
  5. "A more in-depth introduction to BA's new synthesis of communism". revcom.us. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  6. ^ Baum, Richard (2010). China Watcher: Confessions of a Peking Tom (1st ed.). University of Washington Press. p. 241. ISBN 9780295800219.
  7. DelVecchio, Rick (February 2, 2002). "'Sparky' Avakian – racism-fighting judge". San Francisco Chronicle.
  8. RNL Show, November 2022. "The Bob Avakian Interviews": Part 1, Part 3
  9. Werkmen, Dirk (March 10, 1968). "Freedom: The Birth of a Party, 1968". Independent Star News. p. 5.
  10. Benson, George S. (March 28, 1972). "Looking Ahead". The Evening Independent. p. 11.
  11. Sale, Kirkpatrick (1974). SDS. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 412, 521, 566, 576, 592. ISBN 0394719654.
  12. Baker, Ross S. (November 22, 1970). "A History of The Weathermen". Express and News.
  13. Elbaum, Max (2002). Revolution in the air : sixties radicals turn to Lenin, Mao and Che. London: Verso. ISBN 9781859846179.
  14. Avakian, "Bob Avakian Speaks on the Mao Tsetung Defendants' Railroad and the Historic Battles Ahead", Introduction and pp. 18—21.
  15. Athan G. Theoharis, "FBI Surveillance: Past and Present", Cornell Law Review, Vol. 69 (April 1984); and Peter Erlinder with Doug Cassel, “Bazooka Justice: The Case of the Mao Tse Tung Defendants – Overreaction Or Foreshadowing?”, Public Eye, Vol. II, No. 3&4 (1980), pp. 40—43.
  16. ^ "Scores arrested, Injured In May Day Violence". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. UPI. May 2, 1980.
  17. DelVecchio, Rick (April 29, 2005). "Berkeley: Memoir follows author's road to communism". San Francisco Chronicle.
  18. Unknown (December 6, 1979). "Communists get year sentence for disruption". The Daily Tar Heel. Chapel Hill, North Carolina. p. 2.
  19. Montgomery, Blake (September 7, 2017). "Here's Everything You Need To Know About The Antifa Network That's Trying To Solidify A Nazi-Punching Movement". BuzzFeed. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  20. "Statement by Bob Avakian on the immediate situation and the upcoming elections". us3.campaign-archive.com. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  21. DelVecchio, Rick (April 29, 2005). "Berkeley: Memoir follows author's road to communism". SFGate. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  22. "Praise and Reviews". Insight-press.com. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  23. Weir (2007). "Maoism". In Weir, Robert (ed.). Class in America: H-P. Greenwood. p. 492. ISBN 978-0313337192. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  24. "Stop the Lies and Slanders: Bob Avakian and the RCP Are the Exact Opposite of a "Cult"!". Revcom.us. Retrieved April 17, 2019.

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